


Not Without You (Canon-Divergence Stucky Fix-It-Fic)

by loveforpreserumsteve



Series: Not Without You [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Cassie Lang Is a Good Bro, Eventual Happy Ending, Fix-It-Fic, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nomad Steve Rogers, OTP Feels, Post Infinity War, Road Trip, Scott Lang is a Genius, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Stucky - Freeform, Time Travel, not without you, steve rogers - Freeform, time heist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:00:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 33
Words: 37,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25398808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loveforpreserumsteve/pseuds/loveforpreserumsteve
Summary: "Both feet steady on the curb, Steve looked up at the house. For a moment, wondering what it looked like before. Glancing to his left and right, Steve wondered what this abandoned suburban street was like before. Wondered if kids freely rode their bikes and cheerfully shouted the way kids do.Did. The world was more somber now.Taking in a grounding breath, Steve headed up the steps. It was a long shot that she'd still live here. But it was worth a shot. And Steve was far past desperate. He would go to the ends of the earth and track down even the smallest of tips if he even thought that it might lead to something. Which, was what he was doing, he guessed.If no one answered, he'd...Well, he didn't really know what he'd do."-Spoilers to MCU films-Implied smut and other mature content-My first Canon-Divergence fic, so fingers crossed***I don't own Marvel or the characters of Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes, nor any of the other Marvel characters
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Series: Not Without You [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1829317
Comments: 88
Kudos: 78





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> To keep up-to-date with everything that's going on in my life, my fics, and to see cute pictures of my pets, be sure to follow me on [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/loveforpreserumsteve/)
> 
> I've also self-published [Call It What You Want](https://www.amazon.com/Call-What-Want-Minnie-Nicole/dp/1986446255/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=call+it+what+you+want+minnie+nicole&qid=1601172728&sr=8-1)
> 
> And if you would like some to purchase some merch based off of loveforpreserumsteve fanfics and Minnie Nicole Books, you can get them at [The Fanfic Was Better](https://teespring.com/stores/thefanficwasbetter)
> 
> Much love and appreciation  
> Minnie ❤❤❤


	2. One

**One:**

" _Hey, Steve. It's Rhodey. Again. Just checking in._ "

" _Rogers! It's Danvers. I was hoping I'd run into ya… maybe next time._ "

" _I know a song that gets on everyone's nerves, everyone's nerves, everyone's nerves, and this is how it goes! I know a song that gets on everyone's -- Pick up if you're annoyed because I can do this for-ev-er… Alright, I guess you're busy doing whatever the hell you're doing out there. Just hope you're doing alright. Your favorite niece misses you. So, call us back. Pepper, Morgan… me._ "

" _Was hoping you'd pick up for_ me _… Gotta do laundry sometime._ "

 _Click_. With the last voicemail ending, Steve shoved his Stark Phone into his pocket and swung his leg over his motorcycle. Both feet steady on the curb, Steve looked up at the house. For a moment, wondering what it looked like _before_. Glancing to his left and right, Steve wondered what this abandoned suburban street was like _before_. Wondered if kids freely rode their bikes and cheerfully shouted the way kids do.

Did. The world was more somber now.

Taking in a grounding breath, Steve headed up the steps. It was a long shot that she'd still live here. But it was worth a shot. And Steve was far past desperate. He would go to the ends of the earth and track down even the smallest of tips if he even thought that it might lead to something. Which, was what he was doing, he guessed.

Straightening his posture, Steve lifted his hand and knocked on the paint chipped door. His heart pounding as he waited. The seconds stretched on for what felt like hours. Deciding to knock one more time. If no one answered, he'd…

Well, he didn't really know what he'd do. Probably track down Clint the way Rhodey had been doing. Which Steve really didn't want to do because he honestly wasn't sure what he'd do if he was around Clint. To think that the first thing the man did after losing his family was to go on a five year long murder spree. Sure, Steve was dealing with his own pent up anger, hurt, and frustration at the situation, but he wasn't --

"Hello?" A teen girl cautiously opened the door.

"Hi," Steve fixed one of his USO stage smiles on his face, briefly wondering if it still worked even with the beard, as he informed, "I'm looking for a Ms. Cassie Lang. I was wondering if she still lived here."

Opening the door a little more and holding her head high, she confirmed, "I'm Cassie. Who are you?"

"Steve Rogers," he introduced himself.

"Steve Rogers, as in, Captain America?" Cassie asked, suspicious but also curious.

Steve nodded his confirmation and held out his hand to further the greeting, "I knew your father." At that, Cassie clenched her jaw and blinked her tears away. Guiltily, Steve dropped his gaze as he tried to reign in his own anguish as he apologized, "I'm sorry for your --" _taken_ "-- loss."

"It's… fine," Cassie reluctantly stated, as though repeating lines she had rehearsed. Of course, knowing how things were, she probably had repeated that very sentiment many times. Crossing her arms, she stated, "You already know that you're about five years too late to talk to him. So, if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here, Mr. Rogers?"

Straight to the point. Steve liked that. So, he admitted, "I was wondering if you might have some of his things."

"For what purposes, Mr. Rogers?" Cassie questioned, studying him.

"Steve," he kindly corrected. Shoving his hands into his pockets to seem a little less threatening, "Well, I know that he was working with Dr. Pym, and I was hoping that something could be used to help."

Her brow quirked, intrigued, "You think you might be able to do something?"

"I'm hoping I'll be able to try," Steve admitted. Realizing how silly he must sound since he doesn't know the first thing about quantum physics, he amended, "At least, it's worth a shot."

"No, I think you could be onto something," Cassie agreed, exiting the house and causing Steve to step back, moving out of the way. Glancing around as though she was making sure no one could hear her, she continued, "For years, I thought that there might be something in the storage shed. But I wasn't really, 'allowed' --" finger quotes included "-- to go there."

"Oh?" Steve asked as he watched her duck her head back into the house, reaching for something before tightly closing the door behind herself.

"Yeah," Cassie nodded, shoving her keys into her pocket, "So, you'll have to convince the guard to let you in."

"Wait," Steve called after her as she bounced down the porch steps. She whipped around to glare at him and Steve lowered his voice as he followed her, "What do you mean, 'Convince the guard?'"

"Exactly that," Cassie confirmed, crossing the lawn towards the curb where Steve's motorcycle was waiting. Gesturing towards the bike, she asked, "This yours?"

"Yes," Steve verified, watching as she swung one of her thin legs over the bike seat. Looking around suspiciously, Steve approached the Harley and asked, "What are you doing?"

"You're gonna need a partner," Cassie smirked. Patting the rest of the seat in front of her, she impatiently added, "Now, c'mon. We got a world to save and we can't waste another second."

 _Well, can't argue there_ , Steve couldn't help but agree.

However, just because he agreed didn't mean that he was completely irresponsible. Reaching into the bag on the back of his motorcycle, behind Cassie, he pulled out the helmet and passed it to her. When she gave it a quizzical look, Steve decided, "If you're coming with me, ya gotta wear the helmet. That's the deal."

Huffing out a puff of air, Cassie reluctantly took the helmet. Twisting her long brown hair into a messy form, she tugged the helmet on afterwards to secure it. Satisfied with her safety now, Steve mindfully straddled the bike's frame. Starting it up, Steve looked over his shoulder and warned, "Hold on!"

Only once the bike jerked to life did Cassie grasp onto Steve's waist, forcing Bucky's black bomber jacket to form to him just a little more. And as they started down the street, for the first time in half a decade, Steve Rogers had hope.


	3. Two

**Two:**

"This is it?" Steve questioned, glancing at the gated area with multiple storage units.

"This is it," Cassie verified through the comm.

Having been dropped off a couple blocks away with one of Steve's extra comms and a pair of binoculars, Steve was suddenly very unsure of their plan without the rambunctious teen there beside him. After all, Steve wasn't a very good liar. Or at least, that was what everyone else was always telling him. _Too honest of a face_ , Natasha claimed. _Just the way I like it_ , Bucky would tease.

Thickly swallowing, Steve pulled further up and buzzed the intercom. For a moment, there was nothing, and Steve's stomach knotted in his anxiousness. Still waiting, he quietly complained to the teen, "You're sure this is the place."

"Yes," Cassie confirmed, "Either that, or my picture is up in every storage unit office."

At that, Steve peeked into the office. Sure enough, a picture of a displeased Cassie was pinned to a corkboard. Taking in a deep breath, he gave it another go. Pressing the buzzer again, Steve held onto the button a little longer this time. Just in case the person didn't get it the first time.

"What?!" An annoyed voice questioned impatiently through the speaker.

"Uh, yeah," Steve started, "I need to get into… my… into my storage unit."

"Smooth," Cassie scoffed.

Briefly clenching his jaw, Steve chose to ignore her as the male employee asked, "What unit?"

"Um," Steve slightly stammered. Oddly enough, Steve didn't know. They hadn't discussed him needing to know that. Which seemed a little stupid now in the moment and dealing with it.

_Never one for planning, are ya, punk?_

Quickly, Steve shook his head. He couldn't deal with that right now.

"Six-one-six," Cassie supplied.

After Steve repeated it, the gate opened, allowing him entrance to the lot. Steve let out a breath of relief as he parked the motorcycle just inside of the lot. Climbing off, Steve spotted the employee that he assumed was the one who had talked to him. With a broad arm wave, the man gestured for Steve to meet him the rest of the way. And it wasn't like Steve had very many other options.

"Six-one-six, you say?" The employee questioned.

"That's what I said," Steve politely verified.

"Duh," Cassie sassed in the comm, earning a smirk from Steve.

"Now," the security guard led the way to the unit, "You're not gonna try and sleep in here like your friend, are ya?"

"No, sir," Steve stated while Cassie scoffed, "You fall asleep one time and suddenly, they think you're trying to moving in."

That earned an even bigger grin from Steve. The guard was none the wiser as he took it as a simple smile of politeness. Stepping off to the side, he gestured for Steve to unlock the unit. Luckily, Steve had remembered to bring Cassie's keys with him. Next to the hideously ugly alien monster key chain was the key for the storage unit.

Pushing the garage-style door up, Steve looked around the unit. There was an ugly brown van that would've been old and outdated back when Steve first came out of the ice, let alone now. Along with the van were some rugs and boxes. The main problem now was that Steve wasn't sure what he was looking for.

It didn't help any that the guard was watching him, either.

Thankfully, there was a buzz and a crackle over the guard's walkie talkie. Visibly, the man debated whether he should attend to the new person or if he should stay and watch Steve. When another, longer buzz rang out though, the new person won out.

"I'll be back to check on you in ten minutes," the guard warned.

"Take all the time you need," Steve flashed another stage-ready grin and followed the man with his eyes. Once the man was gone, Steve redirected his gaze back to the unit and he asked, "So, got any ideas on what we can use?"

"The van, most likely," Cassie suggested, slightly out of breath as though she was running. "They were messing with something, I just haven't figured out what."

"You caused a distraction?" Steve happily assumed.

Cassie panted, "What are partners good for? If not for creating distractions?"

Steve nodded and peered in through the window. Trying the door -- and finding it to be unlocked -- Steve opened it. There was a box with a touch pad of some kind and a whole hell of a lot of buttons, on the dashboard and a machine of some kind in the back. He wasn't really sure what either of those things were, but he agreed, "I think this'll be our best bet."

"So, we're taking it?" Cassie asked.

"Looks like it," Steve reasoned, "I think I know someone who might know what to do with it. You know how to drive, kid?"

"Is that even a --"

"Yes, or no, Cass," Steve good-humoredly scoffed, shaking his head.

"Okay," Cassie started, "Do I know how to drive? Yes."

"But," Steve prompted as he climbed out from behind the steering wheel.

Sheepishly, she admitted, "I don't exactly have my, um, license… just yet."

For a moment, Steve debated this new development. As a responsible adult, and a once upon a time role model, he should've been against letting a teenager who wasn't certified to drive behind the wheel. But as a man who learned how to hot wire a car in Nazi Germany, he felt a little hypocritical. Especially considering how the world was a different time than any other time Steve had lived in.

Sighing, Steve asked, "Do you at least know _how_ to operate a vehicle?"

"Of course," Cassie easily answered. Then, Steve could hear the smile as she asked, "So, are you gonna let me drive?"

Of course, the guard returned at the same time and questioned, "Ya find anything?"

To answer both, Steve simply conceded, "Yeah."


	4. Three

**Three:**

Steve knew that the half-broken bungee cords weren't going to securely hold his bike to the roof of the van. He also knew that he didn't necessarily trust his motorcycle being on the roof of the van. Especially not with whatever-the-fuck was in the back of it. What if there was a leak and dripped into the van and onto the machine and caused the whole thing to blow up? What if the van imploded? That could happen, right? Shrink to the point of nonexistence?

 _Live a little, Stevie_.

So, Steve drove a little more cautiously as he pulled out of the lot. Only once the gate closed though, did he let out a breath he had been holding. Feeling as though he had gotten away with a crime, all the while checking the mirrors at every opportunity until he turned the corner and could no longer see the buildings at all. For a second, he was sure that sirens would be seen flashing behind him.

"You act like you've never broken the law before," Cassie scoffed when Steve pulled up to the curb.

With the binoculars hanging around her neck, she crossed in front of the van to the driver side. Steve was already untying his bike as he ignored her comment. Even though that didn't stop her from continuing, "I mean, in history class we learned that you falsified your enlistment papers."

"They teach that in schools now?" Steve asked, quirking a brow.

"School," Cassie nonchalantly shrugged while she slid into the driver seat, "Or reddit. Plus, there was that whole, 'Wanted Fugitive,' _thing_."

Playfully, Steve rolled his eyes and pushed the motorcycle to line up with the front of the van. Choosing to not argue on the matter, Steve instructed, "Follow me, okay? We gotta head to my site and pick up my things. Then, I'm driving."

"Got it," Cassie agreed, with a large shit-eating grin. As she started the van, she noticed how that little board with all the buttons was lighting up and she asked, "Did it do this with you?"

"Yeah, but I wasn't going to mess with it," Steve shrugged, slinging one leg over the bike's body. "Figured I'd wait until Ton--"

Before he could even tell her not to, she was carefully selecting a few buttons. It only took a couple of seconds, so Steve couldn't even advise against it. Then, there was a whirring noise and lights flickering throughout the machine in the back.

Quickly, Steve hopped off his Harley and grabbed Cassie, in case the thing exploded. Or imploded. Or any other type of - _loded_ on this choose your own adventure of fuckery.Steve didn't know. But he really wasn't going to wait and find out. Too many people had already been taken thanks to him, he wasn't about to let another one be taken too.

"What did you do?" Steve asked, looking over the van in hopes that he'd be able to stop whatever it was that was currently happening, but didn't know how. It felt like Thanos all over again. And suddenly, Steve was finding it very difficult to breathe. Just like before. Just like back when he was small and frail and sick and nothing was right, but everything was because Bucky was there and Bucky made everything right.

_Breathe with me, Stevie. Inhale with me. Exhale with me. Easy peasy! That's all ya gotta do. Just breathe with me._

Following Bucky's instructions that were only a memory now, Steve thickly swallowed. Hoping that due to what was happening with the van, Cassie wouldn't notice the tears that prickled at the corners of his eyes. Thankfully, he seemed to have a little luck left after all as she was completely absorbed by the machine.

In the blink of an eye, the back doors blew open and Steve jumped in front of Cassie to shield her with his body. He might not have been Captain America anymore, but he'd be damned if he allowed anyone to get hurt when he could've prevented it. When a hard thud and a car horn blared while tires screeched as someone slammed on their brakes, Cassie peeked her head over Steve's arm.

"Dad?" Cassie asked, fighting her way out of Steve's loose hold and protective arms.

"Dad?" Steve questioned, whipping around to see an unbalanced Scott Lang hobble out of traffic. Quickly, he rushed over to the man, just as Cassie had.

"Dad?" Cassie repeated, placing her hands on either side of Scott's face.

Scott's brows furrowed, but he didn't say anything. Cassie wrapped her arms around his shoulders in a hug that broke Steve's heart. It didn't even take a second for Scott to return the hug and wrap his arms around the teen's slim waist.

As they stood in that embrace, Scott looked over the disheveled landscape. Steve wondered what he was seeing. For Steve, and for Cassie, they had five years to get used to it. For Scott though, this was all new to them. Soon after, Cassie pulled back to look at his face again. Not that Steve could blame her. He knew that he'd be doing the same.

"What the hell happened?" Scott finally asked looking between Cassie and Steve. Only for him to finally recognize him with his nomadic beard, "Cap… tain America?"

"Steve," he gently corrected. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he decided, "We can talk about what happened on the way."

"On the way where?" Scott questioned, redirecting his gaze to Cassie and tenderly wiping her tears as he marveled, "How'd ya get so big, peanut?"

Cassie wetly scoffed, "That's what'll happen in five years."

All the questions were there in Scott's expression, but he didn't voice any of them. Not yet. So, Steve gestured towards the vehicles and repeated, "We can talk about it on the way."


	5. Four

**Four:**

Pulling into the field, Steve stopped his motorcycle. Behind him, he could hear the gravel crunching beneath the van's tires. Slowly, Scott approached Steve's hidden camp. So slowly that Steve impatiently waved his hand as though he was trying to guide him; when really Steve just wanted him to hurry up.

 _Should've let Cassie drive_ , Steve couldn't help but think when Scott finally put the van in park.

"So, what's the plan?" Cassie asked, hopping out of the van before Scott even cut the engine. Again, straight to the point. Just the way Steve preferred.

Steve shrugged while Scott quietly rushed, "Peanut, you can't just demand things from Captain America like that." Turning an apologetic eye to Steve, he defended, "She's new to all this."

"It's alright," Steve reassured before honestly answering the teen, "I'm not really sure. I didn't think I'd get this far."

"You traveled all the way to San Francisco without having a plan?" Cassie blinked incredulously at him. Shaking her head, she mumbled, "And here I was thinking you were the, _Star Spangled Man With a Plan_."

Huffing out a small good-humored scoff, Steve glanced over his shoulder to watch as she approached the pop-up camper. Simply looking over the small trailer vehicle without attempting to climb inside. Scott paused next to Steve and kindly assured, "We can come up with something."

Glancing over at the man, Steve couldn't help the small tick to his lips as he gestured for him to lead the way. As they joined Cassie at the camper, Steve opened the door, allowing them to enter first. Cassie gladly accepted the offer and climbed inside. Instantly moving towards the back and examining the interior and the minimal way Steve lived.

Peeking into the small bathroom. Looking over the messy evidence board on the wall next to his bed. Lifting her hand to follow the different colored yarn connecting pictures of those taken, to detailed articles, to cards of people who might've been able to help come up with a solution.

Not that it did any good. Not before San Francisco, at least.

Scott climbed in next and noticed the mini-fridge. Eagerly, he questioned, "Do you have food? I'm starving!"

"I have some leftovers," Steve offered, climbing inside and closing the door behind himself. Self-deprecatingly, Steve warned, "I'm not the best though. So, it'll probably taste like a gym sock."

"I think you underestimate just how hungry I am, Cap," Scott replied, opening the compact fridge and removing a blue container.

Awkwardly standing there, Cassie finally asked, "Is there some place to sit? Or…?"

Steve's eyes followed hers over to his unmade bed, and he blushed as he crossed the small area to the bed. Reaching for the handle in the storage area below, he pulled out one of the benches and waved his hand for her to sit. Pulling another handle, he revealed a hardwood table top, in which Cassie immediately rested her elbows on.

Pulling out the other bench, Steve stood there for another moment as he wondered, "Are you hungry?"

"Depends," Cassie quirked a brow, watching as her father popped the safe container into the microwave.

"Well," Steve chewed on the inside of his lower lip as he offered, "If you don't want leftovers, I think that I have some tofu that I could fry up."

Surprised, Cassie smirked, "Captain America is a vegetarian?"

"Bucky is," Steve conceded with a small smile. Then, he remembered that Bucky wasn't just a Skype call away. He wasn't anywhere or anything _away_. Clenching his jaw, Steve quietly corrected, "Was."

Pressing her lips together, she dropped her eyes to the table. Steve didn't miss the sympathy painted on her face though. But he wasn't going to voice his appreciation. Instead, he continued, "I know how to fry 'em just right so they taste just like chicken nuggets."

"Just like chicken nuggets?" Cassie feigned suspicion as she playfully admitted, "I don't believe it."

"Then, I guess I'll just have to make 'em and have you see for yourself," Steve grinned, stepping around Scott to grab a skillet from the overhead cupboard.

As he reached for the vegetable oil beneath the sink and the prepared tofu from the fridge, the microwave beeped. Instantly, Scott pulled out the heated dish and started shoveling the hot food into his mouth. Closing his eyes, he groaned and informed Steve, "This is heaven."

"I don't think anyone's ever said that about my cooking before," Steve chuckled to himself as he started heating the oil on the small hob.

"They really should," Scott praised around a mouthful of leftover vegan chili. Taking the seat across from Cassie, Scott reached over with his free hand and gave hers a comforting squeeze.

Steve tried not to encroach on their moment, and instead focused on his task at hand. Steve was good with tasks. They gave him a purpose. And Steve desperately needed a purpose. Even if it was simply making food.

Once Scott polished off the mock-meat dish, he placed the empty container in the small sink. Taking his seat again, he blurted, "What the hell happened?"

Plating the fried tofu bites, Steve blew out a puff of air before answering, "Thanos happened."

"Thanos?" Scott asked, looking across the table to Cassie who simply shrugged as she popped one of the crispy squares into her mouth.

"An interstellar tyrant who's mission was, 'fair genocide,'" Steve explained, leaning against the counter. Crossing his arms, he set his gaze on the middle-distance and thickly swallowed, "And he succeeded. He wiped out half of all existence."

"More than half," Cassie quietly added. Keeping her own eyes on her food as she clarified, "They don't take into account all the preventable deaths caused by accidents."

"More than half," Steve amended, glancing at the teen before looking down at his feet.

"Jesus," Scott breathed. Aloud, he wondered, "How?"

"He fashioned a gauntlet to hold the infinity stones," Steve informed emotionlessly. He explained, "They're pure energy and whoever welds them are the epitome of powerful. With a snap of his fingers --" Steve snapped for added effect "-- he did exactly what he set out to do."

After a moment of silence, Scott asked, "What do we do now?"

Steve smirked, "Was hoping you'd know what to do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Health update:
> 
> Doing better! Can swallow with minimal to no pain! Neck is still sore and tender to touch though. And I'm gonna have a nasty scar, but I'm also planning a Halloween costume to incorporate it! 😂🥰
> 
> I hope you're all doing well!  
> Much love and appreciation  
> Minnie ❤❤❤


	6. Five

**Five:**

"You don't have to let us sleep in here," Scott argued as Steve pulled out spare sheets and a lightweight comforter from the bench's cubby.

Pointedly handing them to Scott, Steve assured, "It's okay. I'm used to sleeping on the ground."

And while not untrue, it also wasn't completely true either. But Steve wasn't going to tell them that he was lucky if he even got an hour of sleep, even if he was sleeping on the relatively softer mattress of the camper. Hell, he wouldn't even tell Natasha that. Not that she didn't know his poor sleeping habits already, but that was entirely beside the point.

Taking a tent out from underneath the other bench, Steve slipped it under his arm and stood upright again. Cassie was already making herself comfortable on the fresh bedding of his bed, and Steve gave her a small familial smile when she pulled the sky blue comforter up to her chin and grinned at him. Reminding him of Morgan or Lila. Reminding him of how much he missed his nieces who were here… or taken.

Moving out of the way so Scott could make up the pull-out bed, Steve informed the pair, "If you need me, I'll be right out there."

"Thank you," Scott graciously accepted and pulled Steve into an embrace.

For a moment, Steve just stood there. Not realizing how touch-starved he was until that very moment. Sure, he knew that it was his own choice not to be hugged by anyone other than Morgan. But even with an acquaintance, Steve could already feel his muscles start to relax at the touch.

Before he could let himself become too comfortable though, he removed himself from Scott's grasp and suggested, "Get some sleep. We should leave by seven, at the latest."

"In the morning?" Cassie questioned, raising up on her elbows as she gave Steve a scrunched face look of displeasure. One that reminded him of Becca Barnes and caused his chest to clench.

As though he had come face-to-face with a ghost, Steve cleared his throat and confirmed, "In the morning."

Without another word, Steve exited the camper and crossed the field to set up his tent. Making sure that he'd be able to see if anyone came up the gravel drive. He'd like to blame it on his protectiveness. But really he knew that it was just plain paranoia.

Once the small, one-person tent was set up, he just looked at it for a moment. Remembering when the tent was bought. It had been an accident. Bucky and Steve had been on the run and decided to quickly grab some shelter. However, as soon as they started setting it up, it became all too obvious that it wasn't something that was meant for two individuals, let alone two super soldiers.

_"Fuck," Steve groaned in annoyance as he took a step back from the tent. Dramatically throwing his head back, he sighed and scrubbed his hand over his face as he repeated, "Fuck. Fuck me."_

_"It's not that bad," Bucky chuckled, crawling into the comically small shelter._

_"Sure, Buck," Steve deadpanned while he shook his head even though a small uptick to his lips. Placing his hands on his hips, Steve questioned, "How exactly do you plan on both of us sleeping in there?"_

_"Well," Bucky pointedly trailed off as a salacious grin split his face while he arched his brows suggestively._

_Crossing his arms now, Steve quirked his brow and deadpanned, "Really? We're supposed to be in hiding and you're thinking about fucking?"_

_"What else is there to do?" Bucky asked, crawling back out of the tent, but remaining on his knees as he looked up at Steve._

_Giving Steve those eternal bedroom eyes that always made him lose his resolve. And Bucky knew that. He knew that and he used that to get exactly what he wanted. Which just happened to be something that Steve had no problem giving to him. Especially not when Bucky tenderly placed his hands on Steve's hips and affectionately pressed kisses along the waistband._

Clenching his jaw, he tried to keep the tears building in his eyes at bay. Not wanting to think about -- Well, about anything really. But especially not _that_. Steve wanted to keep those memories locked away in a safe space for the rest of time.

In these moments, the compass felt like it was burning a hole through his pocket. Heavy and hot against his thigh, reminding him that it was there. Reminding him of what he lost. Of what was taken.

Making sure that the Langs were in the camper and no armed assailant was going to attack, Steve crawled into the tent. Laying on top of the unrolled sleeping bag, Steve reached into his jean's pocket. Grasping the brass circle in his hand, he carefully pulled it out.

Holding it above himself, he caressed his thumb over the top the same way he'd caress Bucky's cheek. Popping it open, he looked up at the old, fading picture of Bucky in his army greens. He was always so damn handsome, and everyone knew it. Especially Bucky, himself.

It was always a shame back when he had to cover the photo with Agent Carter's, so no one would figure out what was really going on between the Captain and the Sergeant. But late at night, whenever Steve was by himself, he'd remove Peggy's picture and gaze at the man he loved. Had always loved. Would always love.

Silently, tears streamed from the corners of his eyes. Trailing down his temples before soaking his shaggy hair. Gazing up at that picture like it was his true north star guiding him home. And he prayed that Scott could come up with a way to fix all this. A way to bring everyone back. Bring Bucky back. Let Steve finally go home.

Until then though, Steve brought the compass to his mouth. Pressing a tender kiss to the picture, Steve closed his eyes and pretended that wherever Bucky was, he'd feel it. Same way he did during the war. Same way he did after Bucky fell. All he could do was close the compass, set it on his chest, over his heart, and pretend that Bucky wasn't really gone.


	7. Six

**Six:**

Just as Steve instructed, he was ready to leave by seven. To his surprise, so were Scott and Cassie. Even if Cassie was openly yawning and her hair was thrown up in a messy bun as she stood there still in her plaid pajama pants. And Scott didn't seem much better in his sleep rumpled shirt and his short brown hair sticking up in different directions.

But they had a long day ahead of them. Really, they had a long trip ahead of them. With Steve, it had been easier. Faster. He was able to travel longer with fewer stops. He could drive through a night if he needed to. With the serum, he could go longer without food and could still function at a higher than average level.

To be honest, Steve wasn't sure how to travel with non-enhanced individuals. It had been a while since he had to take into account normal human functions. About four and a half years, to be more exact. And even then, Natasha was more efficient than normal. Sometimes she acted more enhanced than Steve, himself.

"Do you think we can stop somewhere to get coffee?" Scott quietly asked, his voice raspy in his drowsiness.

"Coffee," Cassie confirmed, tapping the tip of her nose with her finger as one did during a game of charades. She clarified, "I need coffee."

While Steve made sure that the motorcycle was secure and the camper was correctly compacted, Scott asked Cassie, "You drink coffee?"

"I mean…" the teen trailed off, letting that be answer enough.

Once he was satisfied that the camper wouldn't be lost from the van, Steve headed towards the front and informed, "There's a diner about 30 miles from here that has good coffee."

"Anything closer?" Cassie yawned.

Steve smirked, "Sure, but it's not as good."

"I'll be picky later," Cassie reasoned, climbing into the van.

Turning his attention to Scott, Steve asked, "That alright with you?"

"Perfectly fine," Scott assured, climbing into the passenger seat next to Cassie.

Climbing in behind the wheel, Steve took the keys from Scott and started the engine. Instantly, a poppy song with a young woman singing started playing.

_We're happy, free, confused and lonely at the same time  
It's miserable and magical, oh yeah  
Tonight's the night when we forget about the deadlines  
It's time  
Uh-oh_

Brows furrowed, Steve looked over at Scott. Happily, the man bobbed his head while he sang along, "' _I don't know about you, But I'm feeling twenty-two. Everything will be alright, if you keep me next to you_.'"

Glancing at Cassie, she mutely shrugged. Although the small smile on her face had Steve leaving the radio on as he pulled out of the field. Cautiously driving down the street and hoping that the trip back would be just as uneventful as it was there.

Although, if Steve was a betting man, he'd put money on it. As devastating as what Thanos did was, crime had significantly gone down. It was one of the main reasons why the world didn't need the Avengers anymore. Why Steve didn’t feel as guilty about leaving the compound. Of going on this solo mission. Sure, he felt bad about leaving Natasha all by herself at the compound to carry the light load alone, but he knew that if Natasha really needed him, she'd call.

So, Steve strummed his fingers to the beat of the song. It might not have been what Steve had expected. But, as Steve was constantly learning, life didn't go as expected. At least this start was better than the one Steve had taken the first time around. Even if he wasn't used to the choice of music that his passengers seemed to know every word to.

Admittedly, it was the most normal that Steve had felt in a long time.

Playfully, Cassie nudged her elbow into his ribs to gain his attention. Briefly looking away from the deserted country road, Steve glanced her way. With raised brows and a pointed look, she stiffly shimmied her shoulders. Clearly, she wanted Steve to join in.

However, Steve wasn't the type to dance. Even the serum didn't give him rhythm, and the only person that had ever gotten Steve to dance was Bucky. And since he wasn't here, Steve wasn't going to give in.

"Do you ever loosen up?" Cassie quizzically looked at Steve, subtly bobbing her head to the new song playing.

Luckily, Steve didn't have to answer because the diner came into view. Whether time sped by because he was preoccupied or because he was going ten over the speed limit, Steve was just glad that he had a distraction.

Cutting the engine and quickly climbing out of the van, Steve headed for the diner before Scott and Cassie had even opened the passenger door. Pushing open the heavy glass door, Steve was greeted by an older woman with graying red hair in a blue uniform while she stood at the counter, restocking straws.

"Sit wherever you like, sweetie," she kindly smiled, "I'll be with you in just a minute."

"Thanks," Steve nodded in acknowledgement as he entered further into the diner and chose a booth near the back where he could watch the door.

Cassie and Scott joined him in the diner soon enough, with Cassie leading the way over to the booth. As she slid into the seat across from Steve, she teased, "Is avoidance one of your super powers?"

"Cassandra," Scott reprimanded as he took a seat beside her. With wide eyes, he looked over at Steve and apologized, "I am so sorry."

Chuckling to himself at the teen's dig, Steve shook his head, "It's okay." A smirk tugging at his lips, he playfully admitted, "Yes. It's my most powerful super power."

Her grin grew at that, and even Scott seemed to approve of the camaraderie building between them. It made Steve ease in his seat as well. Especially when the waitress came over to them.

"What can I start you off to drink with?" She questioned, pulling out her pen and pad of paper.

"Coffee," the trio answered in unison, causing the woman to arch her brows.

Putting the pad back in her apron, she said, "Easy enough. I'll be right back with that."

As they waited, Cassie fiddled around on her cellphone, Scott let out a long yawn, and Steve glanced around at the diner's empty interior. When his eyes landed on the small racks of postcards, he quietly excused himself from the table and headed for them. A lot of them were simple beach shots, or of city landmarks. All the while, Steve wanted one with a little more personality.

"Do Avengers always give away their location by sending postcards to each other?" Cassie asked, causing Steve to jump and drop the postcard he was examining.

"Don't do that," Steve warned, holding his chest while he attempted to catch his breath.

Cassie held her hands up in surrender and apologized. Well, half-apologized, "Sorry, I thought you'd have super-sonic hearing."

Picking the postcard up off the floor, he accepted it, "It's okay. I just wasn't paying attention."

"Because of the postcards?" Cassie clarified, quirking a brow.

Steve's cheeks heated and he stammered, "I-I, I was just, uh, just trying to find a… good one."

Slightly narrowing her eyes, Cassie must've seen something in Steve in that moment because she didn't sass. Instead, she eased in her stance -- a calculated decision to appear nonthreatening -- and redirected her attention to the spinning rack. Carefully looking over them before choosing one.

"How about this one?" She asked, handing it over to Steve.

Holding the cheesy postcard in hand, his lips tugged up and he nodded, "This one is great."

"Cool," Cassie smiled, turning to head back to the booth. She glanced over her shoulder to see if Steve was following, and he held up a finger to let her know he needed a minute.

Using one of the pens near the cash register, he quickly scrawled another message.


	8. Seven

**Seven:**

Filled with enough sugary, savory breakfast foods to feed a family of seven, and the caffeine from the subpar coffee pumping through their veins, the trio left the diner in better spirits than any of them had had in a long time. Especially Steve as he reached into the saddle bag on his bike while the Langs climbed into the van. Slipping the postcard into the old, worn journal, he took a moment to smile at the vintage photo of his one true love.

 _Tu tutu tu tu_  
Tu tutu tu tu  
Tu tu tutu tu tu tuu

The horn blared the tune of _La Cucaracha_ , startling Steve and causing him to nearly drop the stuffed journal. Snapping it closed, he looked over to the van and found Cassie leaning out of the driver side window as she cheerfully demanded, "Let's get this show on the road, grandpa!"

Chuckling to himself, he shook his head as he safely tucked the journal back into the saddle bag. Checking his phone, he noted the time and acknowledged that there was another handful of missed calls before shoving it back into his pocket. Sliding behind the steering wheel, Steve was ready to get a move on it.

So, that was what they did.

Taking coffee breaks and stopping at rest stops more often than Steve had on the way to San Francisco. Eating at a pizzeria where Cassie ordered a veggie pizza for Steve while she fought her smirk, because, "You're vegetarian, remember?" Or the diner with the interesting sign that caught Cassie's disgust as she read, "JD Coffee Shop: pancakes, steaks, seafood." Or whenever they stopped for bathroom breaks and Steve would look over the map regardless of whether, "Don't you have that memorized yet? Boy, those history books really like to exaggerate your abilities, huh?"

Really, Cassie just spent the whole time mocking him no matter what he did or where they stopped. But unsurprisingly so, he didn't grow annoyed. Not even when he pulled off for the night. Another empty field just outside of St. George, Utah, that earned Steve a well-earned jab about trespassing and how, "Captain America is a criminal? Isn't that just the damndest thing."

Making sure that they were far enough away from the road where they wouldn't be seen, Steve parked. Figuring that they'd leave as soon as they woke up, Steve didn't bother unhooking the popup from the van. Instead, just allowing the camper to expand to three times its size.

Thankful for Stark technology and the solar panels on the roof as he entered the camper to plug in his phone. Idly wondering if fixing the van's cigarette lighter would mess with the machine in the back, and whether the risk would be worth it just so he could charge his phone throughout the day. Especially when his phone instantly started going off with notifications.

"Captain America has a social life, who would've guessed," Cassie stretched her arms above her head, touching the camper's low ceiling.

Even Scott laughed at that. Albeit, a little high pitch and encroaching on hysterical. Cassie and Steve both turned their attention to him at the sound. All humor was sucked out of Cassie as she asked, "Dad?"

Steve set his phone on the counter and questioned, "Are you alright, Scott?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Of course," Scott rushed as he continued to laugh, causing Cassie and Steve to exchange a look of concern with each other.

Instantly, Cassie pulled out one of the benches while Steve grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge. The pair working together to get Scott to calm down. Perhaps Steve should've been more diligent after Scott popped out of the machine. Feeling especially negligent since he, instead, immediately dragged the Langs onto the road in his selfish attempts to get his lover back.

"Just focus on your breathing, alright?" Steve instructed, while trying to ignore the flurry of memories that simple phrase brought up. He needed to focus. Now wasn't about him, it was about Scott. Inhaling with the brunet, he counted, "One, two, three, four, five," holding it, and then exhaling, "One, two, three, four, five."

Glad that Scott was following Steve's instructions as they continued to breathe together. With a shaky hand, Scott brought the bottle of water to his mouth and managed to get some into his mouth. Even if more of it sloshed over the side of his hand.

"Dad? Are you okay?" Cassie asked, rubbing his back, "Do you need to lay down?"

"I just --" Scott cut himself off. Setting the water down, he brought Cassie close and held her tightly to him as he started over, "Five years ago, I entered the Quantum Realm."

Steve's brows furrowed, but he wasn't going to interrupt. Even if he had no idea what Scott was talking about.

"The Quantum Realm is like its own microscopic universe," Scott explained resting his cheek on the top of Cassie's head. "To get in there, you have to be incredibly small. Hope --" he held his daughter just a bit tighter as he grappled to explain who Hope is… was. "She's my… she was my… She was supposed to pull me out. And then…"

"Thanos," Steve supplied with a clear of his throat.

Scott nodded his confirmation, "Then Thanos happened. And I got stuck in there."

"I'm sorry," Steve lamely attempted to comfort as he reasoned, "That must've been a very long five years."

"But that's just it. It wasn't," Scott moved, allowing Cassie to take up a more casual, comfortable seat beside him. Scott continued, "For me, it was five hours."

"How is that possible?" Cassie asked while Steve questioned, "What are you talking about?"

"The rules of the Quantum Realm aren't like they are up here. Everything is unpredictable," Scott clarified.

Thickly swallowing, Steve turned around to reach for his phone. Knowing that despite him not fully understanding what Scott was talking about, someone else might. Or at least be able to help him better understand. And even if they couldn't, Steve would rather still have them with him.

"Ya got any idea what time it is, Rogers?" That familiar raspy voice answered, thick with sleepiness.

"You're the one sleeping with your phone, Romanoff," Steve teased back. Seeing that Scott and Cassie were huddled together as they quietly discussed what this could mean, and he asked his teammate, "You know anything about Quantum Physics?"

A rustling came from the other side and what sounded like a lamp clicking on as she confirmed, "Only enough to make conversation. Why?"

"Because you're never going to believe who I found in San Francisco," Steve answered.


	9. Eight

**Eight:**

So, there was a change of plans. At first, Steve was sure that the compound was the best place. Where they could call some of the others who were off-planet and come up with a plan. Only, when Scott started theorizing about a possible time machine did Steve understand where they really needed to go.

Even if Steve did feel bad about bothering him at home.

With a blue Iron Man helmet in one hand and Morgan in the other, Tony paused on his way to the cabin when he spotted the van. A curious look was on his face before Steve opened the door. Really, Tony should've realized who it was considering he parked next to Natasha's black Audi, and only a select few knew where thee Tony Stark and Pepper Potts settled down.

"Uncle Steve!" Morgan cheerfully greeted, wiggling out from Tony's grasp as she raced over to him.

"Hey, Bug," Steve smiled, effortlessly lifting the little girl into his arms. Hugging her close as he looked past her to her father and asked, "Nat update you?"

"Yeah," Tony confirmed, displeased as he crossed his arms and briefly glanced down at the ground. Returning his attention when he heard the Langs climbing out of the van, he admitted, "When she told me who you were with, I thought you'd finally lost it."

As Morgan pet Steve's scruffy beard, Steve took her hand in his and playfully blew a raspberry to her palm before he conceded, "I thought I lost it too. This is Scott and his daughter, Cassie."

Kindly, Tony grinned and waved for the trio to follow him up the porch steps, "C'mon. Maguna and I were just about to have some lunch." Teasingly, he looked back at his daughter and joked, "A handful of crickets on a bed of lettuce."

On Steve's hip, Morgan exaggerated a look of disgust by scrunching her tiny face, and giggled when Steve mimicked her as he affectionately touched his forehead to hers. All the while, Cassie mocked, "Rich people eat the weirdest things."

Glancing over at her, Steve grinned and winked. Having grown fond of the teen within the last two and a half days, Steve even decided to drape his arm around her shoulders. Giving her a familial squeeze before dropping his arm, he gave Morgan's cheek a kiss then set her down.

"Wasn't expecting you until later," Nat greeted Steve, arms crossed along her chest and her longer hair braided behind her.

"Mr. Leadfoot here sped the entire way," Cassie answered, almost bashfully as she stared at Natasha in awe. Of course, knowing Natasha, he knew that it wasn't uncommon for people to be stunned by meeting Black Widow in the flesh.

"Captain Noble? Breaking a law?" Tony feigned skeptically as he lingered by the door. Peeking inside, he asked, "Food? Something to drink?"

"Sure," Cassie easily agreed, taking a seat on the outdoor furniture.

"That's really nice," Scott smiled, joining his daughter.

"Would you like some help?" Steve asked, lingering by the door along with Tony.

Tony smirked, "You're the one who will need help if you don't come say hi to Pepper, first."

Steve nodded and followed the shorter man into the house. Nonchalantly, Pepper was sitting comfortably on the sofa, reading. Steve was always pleasantly surprised with how easy the Stark-Potts lives had gotten since stepping away from avenging. Of course, Steve imagined that if Bucky had survived, they would've also settled down in a cabin that Steve built.

"Here's our favorite lumberjack," Pepper greeted with a warm smile as she bookmarked the novel. Gazing up at a disheveled Steve, she commented, "Long time, no see."

Heat spread across the apples of his cheeks, and Steve scratched at the back of his neck as he apologized, "Sorry, Pep. You know I was on a… mission."

"No need to apologize, big guy," Tony surprisingly assured, patting Steve's broad shoulder on his way to the kitchen. Pulling down some glasses and a tray, Tony informed, "Everyone deserves a year of self-discovery. Or five."

A smile tugged at his lips as he looked down at his boots. Although they all knew Steve wasn't searching for himself, Steve liked the sound of that better than what it really was. Especially with how pathetic the truth made him appear. Pity even colored Pepper's expression because she knew it too. Of course, she, herself, had been desperate like Steve once. _Okay, more than once_ , Steve allowed. Tony, after all, did have a habit of narrowly escaping death.

When Steve heard the sound of a blender, he snapped his attention over to Tony. While it had taken a while for Steve to get used to the taste of some of the health shakes that Tony made the team, he'd be lying if he denied that he missed them. He had even bought a blender and tried to make them, but could never get the proportions right.

"Now, get over here and put those muscles to good use," Tony teased, as he poured the blended beverage into a pitcher. Placing it on the tray with the glasses and waiting for Steve to carry it back outside.

Following Tony, and smiling down at Morgan, Steve set the tray on the table. Casually noting how Scott was pacing and Cassie was sitting on the edge of her seat as though she was about to jump up at any minute to either stop her father, or join him. Glancing over at Nat, he could tell that she was figuring out what to do too.

Kneeling, Tony got to eye level with Morgan and suggested, "How 'bout you pick out some pretend clothes for later?"

"Okay!" Morgan quickly agreed, rushing inside of the house.

As he straightened out, Tony crossed his arms and gestured, "Alright, let's hear it."

Nodding to himself, Scott quickly went into relaying the Quantum Realm and how one has to be really, really, _really_ small to get there. Having already heard it the night before, Steve didn't pay too much attention to Scott's explanation of how long it felt versus how long it actually was. Instead of getting his hopes up at the suggestion of time travel -- actual time travel! -- Steve chose to pour himself some of the healthy shake. Catching Cassie's eye, he poured her some too.

"Now, we know what it sounds like," Scott finished, eagerly studying Tony.

"Tony," Natasha started, "After everything you've seen, is anything really impossible?"

"You're telling me this doesn't sound crazy?" Tony questioned, quirking a brow at her.

A smirk played at her lips as she reminded, "I get e-mails from a raccoon, so nothing sounds crazy anymore."

Tony silently agreed with that, still not looking convinced. Especially as he argued, "Quantum fluctuation messes with the Planck Scale. Which then triggers the Deutsch Proposition. Can we agree on that?"

While Tony looked over them, he took their silence as confusion, and he wasn't really that far off. Steve, for one, didn't know what they were talking about. So, Tony reiterated, "In Layman's terms, it means you're not coming home."

"I did," Scott protested.

"No," Tony corrected, "You accidentally survived. It's a billion to one cosmic fluke. And now you wanna pull off a… What do you call it?"

Holding her head held high, Cassie proudly answered, "A time heist."

"Yeah, a time heist," Tony confirmed, his tone softening with the teen. Steve looked down at his shake, not wanting to see the hurt and defeat on his teammate's face from the memory of the teens he lost.

Then, in a moment, Tony's stance and expression hardened. Always choosing aggression whenever hurt, and now was no different as he mocked, "Of course, why didn't we think of this before? Oh, because it's laughable? Because it's a pipedream?"

Cassie's jaw clenched, but she didn't sass. Instead, she kept her focus on her untouched drink and tried to reason, "There are stones in the past. We can go back and get them."

"We can snap our own fingers," Natasha added.

"Bring everyone back," Steve softly tacked on.

"Or," Tony dissented, "Screw it up worse than he already has, right?"

"I don't believe we would," Steve refrained from clenching his jaw. Desperately needing Tony to see the smallest of possibilities. It was the only thing keeping Steve holding on. If this didn't work, he didn't know what he'd do.

Sadly, Tony smiled at Steve as he admitted, "Gotta say, sometimes I miss that giddy optimism. However, high hopes won't help if there's no logical, tangible way for me to safely execute said time heist. I believe the most likely outcome would be our collective demise."

And just like that, Steve could feel the last bits of his heart shatter. Although Steve and Tony didn't always see eye-to-eye, Steve still cared for Tony. Hell, in a different life, he would've been Uncle Steve to him too. Always trying to care for Tony in Howard's memory. But if Tony didn't even think there was a chance…

Lost in his own thoughts, Steve tuned out their bickering. Trying his hardest to not spiral down to that lonely, dark hole he had been in in the beginning. Finishing off his shake, he set the glass down before he could break it. Knowing that Pepper wouldn't be too happy with him if he did so.

Holding onto the porch railing, he saw Morgan race out of the house and climb onto Tony. Gladly, Tony hefted the little girl onto his hip and turned for the house. Steve knew that this couldn't be it.

It just couldn't be.

A little -- okay, a lot -- desperate, Steve grabbed onto Tony's arm. Pleading, "Tony, I get it. And I'm happy for you, I really am. But this is a second chance."

Holding Morgan just a little closer, Tony declined, "I got my second chance right here, Cap. I can't roll the dice again." Then, a little softer, just for Steve, Tony added, "Really, Steve, I'm sorry."

Thickly swallowing, with tears building in his eyes, Steve nodded. Letting his hand drop, just like his heart as Tony walked inside of the cabin and Steve hurried back to the van. Leaning against the vehicle and burying his face in his hands as his breathing started turning to pants.

Cautiously, a hand touched his back and Nat's familiar voice attempted to comfort him, "He's scared."

"He's not wrong," Steve breathed out, peeking over at the petite woman.

Cassie crossed the drive and asked, "What are we gonna do?"

"We need him," Scott sighed defeatedly.

"What, are we gonna stop?" Cassie demanded, looking over the adults in front of her. Wondering if she finally saw the avengers for what they truly were. For what _he_ was.

Natasha kept rubbing Steve's back, bringing him back down. Making it easier for Steve to remember who he's supposed to be. He's Captain America, god damn it! So, he rationalized, "We're gonna need a really big brain."


	10. Nine

**Nine:**

"Well, thanks for hanging out with me today, but I've got some serious phases of matter to change," Bruce cheerily spoke to the camera. Carefully, removing a kettle from the hob and pouring it into a _think like a proton and stay positive_ mug. Smiling at the camera, he used his typical outing, "See ya around the universe!"

"And we're clear," the man behind the camera confirmed while the rest of the crew started moving about.

"We're clear!" Another man with a clipboard and a headset echoed.

"Great show, Bruce," a woman praised as she got to work making sure the hob was off and the counter was clean.

"Thank you, Donna," Bruce accepted with a grin.

"Don't forget Annie's birthday party," another woman reminded.

Feigning incredulous, Bruce asked, "How could I forget? She's turning ten!"

Carrying the mug that was comically too small for his unnaturally large hands, Bruce greeted them, "I've been meaning to come visit, but I've been kinda --" glancing around the _Professor Hulk, the Science Bulk_ set "-- busy."

"Hulk, Hulk, Hulk," Cassie quietly chanted, slightly pumping her fists into the air.

Steve fought the smirk, but even he heard the show's opening theme song in his head now. Natasha approached him first and gave him a hug. Although Steve was always hesitant about the pair after their failed attempt at a relationship, he was glad that they remained friends.

"I'm so confused," Scott finally admitted, looking at Bruce with wide eyes.

Bruce chuckled as he pulled away from Nat and confirmed, "These are confusing times."

"Right," Scott nodded, then changed his mind. Shaking his head, he clarified, "No, no, that's not what I meant."

"No, I get it," Bruce dropped the act of the child-programming persona and assured, "It's crazy!"

"Yeah," Scott agreed, watching Bruce take a drink of the tea in his large hulkish hand. He stammered, "Wh-- How? Why?"

"Five years ago, we got our asses beaten," Bruce paused momentarily to look at Cassie. Still not feeling comfortable cursing in front of children, no matter how old they were. Even as Cassie pointedly ignored his slip-up as she walked around the set.

So, Bruce continued, "It was worse for me. I lost twice. First, Hulk lost, then Banner lost. Then, we all lost."

"No one blamed you, Bruce," Natasha reassured, crossing her arms along her chest while glancing over at Steve.

Ashamed, Steve looked down at the ground. It wasn't Bruce or Hulk that Steve blamed for losing. No, who he blamed was himself. Because, after all, who else could he blame? He was the one who was purposely modified in hopes that he'd save the world. He failed with Hydra. And he failed with Thanos. So far, he was 0:2, with the universe winning their sick game against him.

"I did," Bruce conceded, "For years, I've been treating the Hulk like he's some kind of disease, something to get rid of. But then I started looking at him as the cure. Eighteen months in a gamma lab. I put the brains and brawns together. And now look at me! Best of both worlds!"

Scott was speechless. Cassie on the other hand broke in, "Excuse me, Mr. Professor Hulk?"

"Yes?" Bruce answered turning to find her over in the lab set that was currently being cleaned by some of the crew.

She was looking at some glowing liquid and teased, "If I drink this, will I get super powers?"

"Your vomit might glow in the dark," Bruce casually answered, taking another drink of his tea.

"Lame," Cassie deadpanned, moving around the lab again. Not touching anything, but still milling around, out of the way from the employees.

Steve still felt a need to keep an eye on her though. Just in case. Choosing to focus his attention on her and the lab instead of the time travel talk. Even though this wasn't the first time he heard it, he was still just as far away from understanding it as he was the first time.

"The whole time travel do-over?" Bruce was skeptical, just as Tony had been, "It's outside of my expertise."

"Well, you pulled this off," Natasha debated, gesturing to Bruce's larger, greener frame. "I remember a time when that seemed pretty impossible, too."

Shrugging, Bruce caved, "I guess, I can try. What's the worst that can happen?"

"Not really the kind of thing to ask," Steve deadpanned, crossing his arms and quirking a brow. Hoping that the universe wouldn't take that as a challenge.

"Sorry," Bruce sheepishly apologized. Finishing off the tea, he set it down on the counter and clapped his large hands together, "So, should we get this show on the road?"

"Hell yeah!" Cassie confirmed, fist pumping into the air as she quickly made her way back to the group. Practically skipping as she followed the adults out of the studio. Still pumping her fists, alternating them, as she softly chanted, "Hulk, Hulk, Hulk!"

With a smile on his face, Steve simply shook his head. Even though Cassie had been a lot to handle, he was glad that he dragged himself to her doorstep. Not only would he not be getting the team together. But he wouldn't have the most important thing: a chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: In case you don't follow me on insta, I added the show logo I whipped up! Nothing else to this chapter revolving text wise has been altered.
> 
> Much love and appreciation  
> Minnie ❤❤❤


	11. Ten

**Ten:**

"Whatcha doin'?"

Startled, Steve nearly jumped out of his skin as he quickly shut the journal to find Cassie taking a seat at the table beside him. Heart still racing, Steve thickly swallowed as he lied, "Nothing."

"Really?" The teen quirked a brow suspiciously as she pointedly looked at the pen in his hand and the worn, stuffed journal in front of him. "Sure you weren't writing in your diary?"

"Journal," Steve quietly corrected, glancing down at it, himself. Purposely moving it further away from her, he rested his muscular arm on top of it and asked, "What are you up to? Bored with the compound already?"

"How'd you guess?" Cassie mocked before sighing and letting her shoulders slump. Looking around at the modern interior, she wondered, "How did you _not_ lose your mind here?"

Shrugging, Steve easily admitted, "Had other things on it."

_Brown hair, blue eyes, strong jaw, one arm, types of things…_

"Things to fill your diary with?" Cassie flashed a shit-eating grin as she innocently teased him.

So, Steve played along, "Journal, actually."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Cassie mocked, bringing a hand to her chest to feign authenticity. Sighing again, she decided to rest her head on her hand as she eyed the _People I Want to Punch in the Face_ journal, "Never thought that Captain America was the violent type."

"Captain America's not," Steve rationalized, "Steve Rogers on the other hand…"

Studying him for a moment, Cassie finally questioned, "Is it weird?"

"Is what weird?" Steve asked, making sure that the postcards and pictures didn't fall out of the journal.

"You know," Cassie waved her hand about as if that was answer enough. When Steve simply quirked another brow at her, she clarified, "Having everyone know who you are, but not really know _you_. Is it weird?"

 _"It doesn't ever bother you?" Bucky asked, his brow set in a heavy furrow. "How they write about you in those history books? Or how they write about_ us _? I mean, they have you being doll dizzy before settling down with Carter! That don't bother you?"_

_Steve shrugged one shoulder. Not really in the mood to talk about it. Never in the mood to talk about it, really. Lying back on the bed, he brought his arms to pillow behind his head so his muscles would flex. Hoping that if they bulged enough, Bucky might be too preoccupied with another bulge to pick Steve's brain too much._

_"No!" Bucky exclaimed, pointing accusingly at Steve as he swatted at Steve's foot, "We're having this discussion, Steven Grant!"_

_"But Buck," Steve whined, removing his arms from behind his head and scrubbing his heels into his eyes. Complaining, "I don’t want to talk about this. Again. I don't want to talk about it_ again _."_

_"You're a hypocrite," Bucky claimed, turning away from the bed entirely as he walked into the hotel bathroom._

_Pushing himself up on his elbows, Steve could see Bucky brushing his hair through the open doorway. With how harshly he was tugging on the tangles, Steve knew that he was pissed. Steve was also aware enough to know that he_ was _being hypocritical. Never letting Bucky hide from the tough subjects, but immediately doing just that, himself._

_Sighing, Steve slid off the bed and crossed the carpeted floor. Leaning against the doorway, he teased, "You yank any harder, and you'll go bald."_

_"Wouldn't that just be the worst thing in the world," Bucky deadpanned, flipping his head over to brush it out even more._

_"Nah," Steve smirked, "You'd look hot bald."_

_"Not the time, Steven," Bucky warned, his reflection giving Steve A Look._

_Pushing himself off the doorway, Steve sat down on the side of large bathtub and apologized, "I'm sorry. I know that I always pitch a fit whenever you use sex to avoid serious conversations, but I just want to relax. I'm still trying to get used to all this hero work without having the shield to hide behind."_

_Turning around to face Steve, Bucky's brows furrowed and he reminded, "You were a hero before the shield, and if you wanna a be a hero after it, you will be."_

_Nodding, Steve chewed on his lower lip while staring down at his bare feet. He wasn't all that convinced though. Especially not when the uniform and shield had -- at one point -- meant safety and freedom. After everything that had happened though, it was an insult. With graffiti depicting his face as a fascist symbol. Which made Steve want to vomit._

_Leaving the brush on the bathroom counter, Bucky dropped to his knees in front of Steve. Lovingly bullying his way between Steve's legs, Bucky kept his eyes locked with Steve's and wrapped his arms around Steve's torso._

_"I used to have to beg you to stay out of fights you had no business in fighting. But because of the, 'he was hassling 'em, Buck,' and, 'you didn't hear the things they were sayin',' and, 'bigots deserve nothing better than a broken nose and a swift kick to the balls,'" Bucky reminded. Bringing one of his hands up to brush his thumb over the stubble growing on Steve's jaw, "You've always been a hero, Stevie. The history books and documentaries might not have always portrayed it the way it was, and the world might be changing, but that doesn't change that."_

_Feeling tears building in his eyes, he asked, "Even if they say I'm a fascist?"_

_Bucky shook his head, "Baby, they're not saying that_ you're _a fascist. They're saying Captain America is. If they knew_ you _, there's no way that they'd think that."_

_"I forget sometimes," Steve softly confessed, throat tight with emotion._

_Affectionately, Bucky leaned up to press a sweet kiss to his lips as he confirmed, "That's what I'm here for, punk." Nuzzling into Steve's broad chest, Bucky apologized, "I'm sorry for pushing you on this. I just get so worried when you use that Captain America face that I feel like I don't know you. I'm afraid that one day, I won't be able to reach you at all."_

_"You'll always be able to reach me," Steve assured, kissing the top of Bucky's head. Giving his torso a squeeze as he half-teased, "You're stuck with me, pal. Ain't no way you're getting rid of me now."_

_"Even if I wish you'd have the books changed?" Bucky half-teased, but the tremble to his lips gave him away._

_And damn did that hurt._

_Leaning his forehead against Bucky's, he promised, "I'll get them changed."_

"Earth to Steve?" Cassie asked, waving her hands in front of his face.

Blinking the past away, Steve looked around at the open, modern compound that was an immediate contrast to the hotel room of his memory. Looking at the teen in front of him -- and the worried expression on her face -- Steve's jaw clenched. He had scared Cassie. That was the last thing that he wanted to do.

Clearing his throat, he questioned, "Everything okay?"

A conscious decision was made as Cassie gestured towards the other side of the compound and reiterated, "They're ready to test it."

"Right," Steve nodded, climbing from his seat and picking his journal off the table. His hands clammy as he tried not to worry about how much he had ruined Cassie's perception of him.


	12. Eleven

**Eleven:**

"Okay, here we go!" Bruce announced, "Time travel test number one. Scott, fire up the uh… the van… thing…"

Gazing over the breakers and making sure the generators were good to go, if need-be, Steve crossed the lab to where everyone else was. Bruce was pushing a lot of different buttons while Scott stood in his Ant-Man costume in front of the Quantum Tunnel.

"Breakers are set," Steve informed, "Generators are on standby."

"Good," Bruce assured. "'Cause if we blow the grid, I don't wanna lose Tiny here in the 1950s."

"Excuse me?" Cassie asked, defensively crossing her arms along her chest as she looked startled for her father.

Scott attempted to reassure her, "He's joking," even though it was easy to see that he wasn't too sure either.

Natasha rushed in hushed tones as she reprimanded, "You can't say things like that!"

"Just… It was a bad joke," Bruce poorly lied. So much so that even Steve rolled his eyes at him.

Worried, Cassie crossed the distance to Scott and wrapped her arms around him again. Considering how she had just gotten him back, Steve couldn't imagine what she was feeling now. Scott was brave.

Or stupid.

"You _were_ kidding, right?" Steve quietly questioned, keeping his gaze on the Langs. Feeling personally responsible for whatever was about to happen to them.

Whispering, Bruce confessed, "I have no idea. We're talking about time travel here. Either it's all a joke, or none of it is."

Steve didn't like that answer. He didn't like it one bit. It caused his stomach to sink at the possibility that if this was to go wrong, it'd be his fault. Again. And Cassie didn't deserve that. Scott didn't either, and Steve knew that if Scott was lost, he'd never be able to forgive himself.

"We're good!" Bruce loudly exclaimed. Enthusiastically giving Scott a big thumbs up while Cassie moved until she joined the trio behind the control panel. He instructed, "Get your helmet on, Scott. I'm gonna send you back a week, let you walk around for an hour, then bring you back in 10 seconds. Make sense?"

"Perfectly not confusing," Scott sarcastically commented, jitterily moving around.

"Good luck, dad," Cassie encouraged.

"Thanks, Peanut," he smiled at his daughter.

"You got this," Steve added with a nod and a grin.

"You're right," Scott agreed, "I do, Captain America."

The Quantum Tunnel whirred even louder, the lights shining brighter, and in a blink of an eye, Scott was gone. For a moment, Steve's heart jumped into his throat as he watched the man just disappear. And although his first reaction was to jerk and flinch, he decidedly didn't do that. Instead, he dug his fingernails into the red sleeves of his Henley cladded arms and stood as still as the other three, all because he didn't want to cause the one anymore anxiety than necessary from watching her father poof away in front of their very eyes.

"On the count of three," Bruce started, flipping switches as he counted down, "Three, two, one!"

Pressing the button, everyone let out a breath of relief when a body was standing in front of them. However, that relief didn't last when it was very obviously not the man they were all expecting. No, instead a young teen stood there.

"Uh, guys?" The boy questioned.

"This isn't right," Cassie commented, eyes wide as she looked at the person in front of the Quantum Tunnel.

Keeping his tone low, Steve asked, "What is this?"

Distracted by the panel in front of him, Bruce questioned, "What's going on," all of two seconds before looking up and seeing exactly what was going on.

Not that that stopped Natasha from clarifying, "That! Who is _that_?"

Through thinly veiled panic, Bruce started pushing more buttons and flipping more switches. Very obviously trying to fix whatever they did wrong as he assured, "Hold on."

"Is that Scott?" Nat questioned, exchanging a worried glance with Steve.

"Yes, it's Scott!" The boy rushed, tapping his chest and the suit that was definitely not made for a child.

In another blink, the younger iteration of Scott was sucked back through the Quantum Tunnel. Of course, that didn't make Steve feel any better. And neither did the older man who came back in his place.

"Ow! My back!" The man complained, bringing his hand to his back as if that'd help with his pain.

"What is this?" Steve asked Bruce through clenched teeth.

"Can I get a little space here?" Bruce pointedly questioned Steve as he moved about the panel, trying to fix this.

"Yeah, yeah," Steve commented, dramatically throwing his arms up in the air while taking a step back.

Cassie held her hands in tight fists by her sides as she asked, "Can you bring him back?"

Hitting his palm against the side of a button pad the same way Steve would to a TV remote as he assured, "I'm working on it!"

Through the Quantum Tunnel, the old Scott was pulled back in. Within an instant, a baby sat in the spot before the tunnel. Stunned, Steve stated the obvious, "It's a baby."

"It's Scott," Bruce corrected.

"As a baby!" Cassie shouted, on the verge of hysterical.

Trying to ease the situation, Bruce reassured, "He'll grow."

"Bring Scott back!" Steve demanded on behalf of Cassie.

Motioning towards the breakers and generators, Bruce instructed, "When I say kill the power, kill the power."

"Oh my god," Natasha rushed as she quickly walked over to the breakers.

"And," more switches flipped, Bruce pointed to Natasha as he pushed on a large button, "Kill it!"

Nat pulled down the lever, shutting everything down. Thankfully, Scott -- the normal Scott -- was standing there. Admittedly, looking a little queasy and disconcerted. But at least it was their Scott, Steve guessed.

Cassie touched her hand to her chest as she sighed in relief and commented, "Oh, thank god."

Theatrically holding his arms out, as if showing off the panel display, or even the lab itself, Bruce enthusiastically stated, "Time travel!"

Scrubbing his hand over his face, Steve shook his head. Relieved that Scott was back. But losing an ounce of hope that they'll figure this out without Tony. It wasn't anything against Bruce and his seven PhDs, it was just that this seemed more up Tony's alley. He wondered if he groveled and begged and flattered Tony enough, the man would find pity for Steve and agree.

After all, this was all Steve had now.

While Cassie helped Scott over to a chair, Steve finally let himself ease in his position. As Natasha wrote something down on her notepad and Bruce tinkered around with the panel, Steve decided that he needed some air.

Taking his phone out of his pocket, Steve scrolled through his contacts. Knowing that it shouldn't be such a deal to call Tony up. Sure, their relationship wasn't the steadiest. But when was it ever? No, this hesitation was because he didn't want to take Tony away from his retirement. He didn't want Tony to come back because he knew that he wouldn't want someone to call him to return either.

Before he could make a decision, a snazzy, shiny Audi R8 sped up the compound drive. And considering there was only one person that would ever be so casually ostentatious, Steve couldn't help but breathe a little easier.

"Why the long face? Besides looking like you just lost a lumberjack little league game?" Tony asked as he climbed out of the car and causing Steve to glance down at his 3/4 sleeve Henley white-red shirt. Arrogantly, Tony assumed, "Let me guess: he turned into a baby."

"Among other things, yeah," Steve admitted. Crossing his arms along his chest, he questioned, "What are you doing here?"

Ignoring Steve's question, Tony walked around to the back of the car and explained, "That's the EPR Paradox. Instead of pushing Lang through time, you might've wound up pushing time through Lang. It's tricky. Dangerous. Someone should've cautioned you against it."

"You did," Steve confirmed, half-annoyed with the intelligent man, but mostly grateful for him being there.

"Oh, I did," Tony mocked, "Thank god, I'm here."

Playfully, Steve rolled his eyes, but he didn't interject. No, he knew Tony well enough to know that the man wanted to gloat some more.

Sure enough, Tony held up his hand, to show the back of it and the small watch-like device as he confirmed, "Regardless, I fixed it. A fully functioning Time-Space GPS." Dropping his hand, Tony's expression twisted into a more somber one as he confessed, "I just want peace. Turns out, resentment is corrosive, and I hate it."

"Me too," Steve conceded, feeling so hopeful that he could feel the tears prickling in the corners of his eyes.

"We got a shot at getting these stones, but I gotta tell you my priorities," Tony started, causing Steve to tense. "Bring back what we lost? I hope, yes. Keep what I got? I have to, at all costs. And… maybe _not_ die trying will be nice."

There was absolutely no way that Steve would ever let anything happen to Morgan or Pepper, or Tony. So, it really wasn't difficult for him to agree, "Sounds like a deal."

Turning, Tony reached into the car's trunk and pulled out the shield. The one that Steve had worked so hard to honor. The one that drove a wedge between him and his loved ones. The one that he wasn't sure he could ever wield again.

As Tony held it out to him, Steve hesitated, "Tony…"

"Why? He made it for you," Tony reasoned, pushing it further towards Steve. Teasing, he continued, "Plus, I have to get it out of the garage before Morgan runs off with it again."

Fitting his arm into the straps, Steve smiled up at him, "Thank you, Tony."

Hiding behind humor, Tony joked, "Will you keep that quiet? Didn't bring one for the whole team." Pausing, Tony asked, "We are getting the whole team, yeah?"

"We're working on it," Steve assured with a celebratory smirk.


	13. Twelve

**Twelve:**

"So," Cassie started as she juggled a neon pink soccer ball. Bouncing it with the tops of her feet and her thighs while alternating legs, "What's Thor like?"

Holding one of the spare soccer balls that he found in a storage closet, Steve tried to mimic Cassie's movements, but failed. Nevertheless, he caught the ball and tried again while he answered, "Having a hard time. Just like everyone else."

"Okay, but like," Cassie stopped the ball to look at Steve. Placing her hands on her hips, she clarified, "What was he like before?"

"What do you mean?" Steve's brows furrowed as he placed his hands on his hips too.

"You know, before," Cassie shrugged. Waving her hand out to Steve, she explained, "I doubt you were like this --" using both hands to gesture at Steve "-- before."

"Ouch," Steve good-humoredly scoffed as he theatrically touched his chest over his heart.

Playfully, Cassie rolled her eyes and went back to juggling the ball. Even switching it up by tapping it behind her, twisting, and hitting it with the heel of her opposite foot. As she did that a couple more times, Steve teasingly muttered, "Show off."

"I'm sure that if you practiced, you'd be able to do this too," Cassie assured, returning to the easier juggling.

Steve shrugged and lamely dropped the ball the way Cassie had when she started out. Managing to lightly kick the ball up with the top of his foot. Catching the ball, Steve looked over to the teen for approval and enthusiasm. He wasn't disappointed as Cassie's wide eyes matched his and she raised her hands up victoriously.

"Way to go, Steve!" Cassie genuinely encouraged.

"That felt good," Steve admitted.

"Right?" Cassie agreed, catching her neon pink ball.

Pumped, Steve corrected, "Felt damn good!"

"Hell, yeah!" Cassie enthusiastically confirmed, raising her arms even higher in the air.

And _why the fuck not?_ Steve thought as he lifted his own arms up in victory, too. Which seemed to be the right thing considering the large, toothy grin that split across Cassie's face. She then took a step closer, still holding her hands up, to give Steve double high-fives.

"So, I guess it's not true," Cassie smirked, starting to juggle the ball again.

"Hmm?" Steve hummed, dropping the ball and kicking it back up to his hands with the top of his foot. Feeling entirely proud of himself when he managed to another three successful kicks before flubbing the fourth and breaking his streak.

"You _can_ teach an old dog new tricks," Cassie joked, barely able to contain her giggles. Especially when Steve playfully narrowed his eyes at her. Then, he very purposely knocked the ball away from her. As it rolled much farther than Steve anticipated -- nearly to the landing zone -- while she complained, "Hey!"

"Sorry," Steve chuckled, running across the lawn to get the ball. Just in case one of the aircrafts came back early.

Once he returned, he tossed the ball to Cassie while she started, "There's something I've been wondering."

Expecting another zinger, Steve cautiously questioned, "Yeah?"

Nodding, Cassie kept her gaze down and worried the inside of her cheek. Instead of a joke at Steve's expense, she asked, "Why'd you leave here?"

Taken aback, Steve averted his gaze to the ball that he had abandoned on the lawn. Shrugging, he admitted, "Wasn't home anymore." Then, he amended, "Hadn't been in a while."

"So," Cassie sat down on the lawn. For a moment, Steve tensed; fearing that she'd continue those questions. Instead, she wiggled her brows and wondered, "Thor hotter in person?"

Chuckling, Steve sat on the lawn and teasingly confirmed, "Oh, you would not _believe_ just how much more attractive Thor is in person."

"Really," Cassie exaggerated while giggling and passing the ball back and forth between her hands. Briefly glancing behind herself to the facility before looking back to Steve and asking, "You think we'll actually figure it out? Time travel, I mean?"

"I know we will," Steve assured. Needing to reassure himself more than Cassie, especially when he confessed, "'Cause I don't know what I'm going to do if it doesn't."

Letting the ball drop into her lap, Cassie said, "You know it's not _your_ fault, right? None of what happened is your fault. You did your best. Just because it didn't play out the way you wanted it to, or wasn't as successful as the other times, doesn't mean that you didn't try."

"I should've stopped him," Steve argued, jaw clenching as he redirected his eyes to the grass prickling at his bare calves. Picking at some of the strands, Steve worked on controlling his breathing. _Inhale. One, two, three, four, five. Hold. Exhale. One, two, three, four, five. Hold._ Throat tight with the suppressed emotion, Steve added, "I was supposed to protect _him_. Protect everyone, but especially him."

Reaching across the short distance between them, Cassie gave his hand a gentle squeeze. When Steve forced himself to look up at her, she guaranteed, "We'll get him back. We'll get them all back."

Tears building in his eyes, Steve nodded. He wanted to believe her so much. So, like he had been doing from the moment he heard she was still alive, he put his hope in her hands. Hoping that she was right.

Wind started blowing the loose strands from her ponytail from her head, and Steve looked over to the landing zone where Rocket's spaceship was quickly descending. Standing, Steve sniffled and extended his hand to Cassie. When she took it, he pulled her up.

As they picked up their soccer balls, the ship landed. Door opening, and out walked -- well, _stumbled_ \-- Thor. Ragged and rumpled with his long golden hair matted while his scraggly beard reached down to his chest. Clearly having exchanged his Asgardian cape for a comfier bathrobe.

Approaching the god, Steve's heart broke for him a little. Not just because of the vast difference between who he had been five years ago and now seeing how he was now. But because Steve was right there with him. Even if Steve did envy the fact that Thor still had Bruce here. Whether they picked up where they left off or not, at least Bruce was still alive.

"Thor," Steve greeted with a kind grin and open arms.

After studying him for a moment, a large smile eventually crossed his face as he accepted the embrace with a, "Cap!" Holding Steve close, he companionably smoothed his hand over the back of Steve's shaggy hair until the strands reached the middle of his neck. Steve tightened his arms around Thor's thicker torso while the god wetly exclaimed, "It's so good to see you!"

"It's good to see you, too," Steve assured, sighing in relief and sadness. It had been a while since Steve had visited New Asgard and he apologized, "I meant to visit."

Removing himself from the embrace, Thor waved it off, "I'm glad you didn't. I haven't exactly been my best."

"None of us have," Steve comforted, wrapping his arm around Thor's unsteady frame as he guided him over to the building, "But now, we're not alone."

"Yes," Thor agreed, a smile tugging at his lips, but not reaching his sunglasses covered eyes, "At least we're not alone."

Passing Cassie, she quickly snapped her mouth closed. Quickly catching up to them as they entered the compound. All the while, Thor stroked his own bushy beard but commented on Steve's, "It looks nice."

"Clearly, I was inspired," Steve teased, giving Thor's shoulder a squeeze. And when Thor laughed -- loud and intoxicatedly -- a weak smile tugged at Steve's lips. At least they were together now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo, it's 12:52 am here in Michigan on 8/12/20, which means that it's officially my 29th birthday! 🥳🥳🥰🥰
> 
> I hope everyone has a good day/night wherever you are!  
> Much love and appreciation  
> Minnie ❤❤❤


	14. Thirteen

**Thirteen:**

With new purpose and the possibility of avenging those taken, the compound was abuzz with new life. Everyone there seemingly having their own private vendetta against Thanos, and working on their own missions. For Rocket and Tony, they were working on building a larger, better, Quantum Tunnel. Bruce was modifying the new time travel suit with Scott. Rhodey was trying to get in contact with Carol, while Natasha and Nebula were teaching Cassie how to throw knives and mastering her aim. And Clint…

"What are you doing?" Steve questioned, nearly running into the man as he stood outside of the shooting range.

"Just observing," Clint shrugged. Crossing his arms as he mocked, "I heard she wants to be an _Avenger_."

"She wants to help people," Steve corrected. Tucking his journal under his arm, "I remember some other kids who wanted to follow in their dad's footsteps, too."

Sure, it was a low blow, but Steve's patience for Clint had run out a while ago. Not agreeing with his mourning practices that involved mass murder. Even if the people were criminals, Steve couldn't agree with Clint taking out his frustration and pain on others like that.

After all, Steve didn't turn to murder in his own heartache.

Clint's jaw clenched. Always hitting his target, this was no different as he commented, "You're lucky to have Barnes, always thought he'd be a good father."

Painfully grinding his teeth, Steve forced himself to not smash Clint's face through the observatory window, and instead, turn and leave. Not stopping until he found himself in the kitchen on the other side of the compound. Where he happened to find Thor, too. Making an absolute mess. With cheese overflowing from a homemade quesadilla, and burning as it fried on the iron skillet, causing Steve's nose to scrunch at the wretched smell.

"Need help?" Steve asked, setting his journal down on the table; a safe distance from the cooking war zone.

"No, no, I've got it," Thor reassured with a shaky grin before returning his attention to the stovetop. Taking a drink of the beer in his left hand while holding a spatula in his right, so he could unsuccessfully flip the quesadilla to cook the other side.

Walking around the island, Steve gathered some of the paper towels and started wiping down the counters. The paper towels weren't enough to clean it properly, so he knew that he'd need to get a sponge out later. But that could wait. Instead, he started putting the ingredients back in their places, so Tony wouldn't have a conniption.

Seeing the misshapen mess in -- and on the outer edge of the -- skillet, Steve repeated, "Need help?"

"I can manage," Thor drunkenly smiled at him, breaking Steve's heart.

Sadly, Steve grinned and leaned on the counter. Knowing that he definitely should've visited more in the past five years than he had. Shouldn't have had such a one-tracked mind as he went there looking for clues. For magic. A miracle. Anything that would help them.

"Steve…?"

Help everyone.

"… are you, alright?"

Help Bu--

"STEVE!"

Blinking away the unshed tears, Steve looked at Thor's scared-sober expression and the concerned way he was reaching out to him. Following Thor's line of sight, Steve found that he had broken through the marble counter top. Marble dust and blood from his healing cuts ran up his forearms as he leaned, elbow-deep, in plastic lidless containers.

"Fuck," Steve sighed in annoyance. Removing his arms from the containers and hunk of counter top, Steve looked over the damage done to the piece of furniture and annoyedly muttered, "Fuck."

Cautiously, Thor asked, "Are you alright?"

"Fine," Steve snapped as he started washing his arms off.

Before anything else could be said, the loud high-pitch beeping of the smoke alarm started blaring. Wincing from the sound, Steve looked over his shoulder at the stove. Smoke was billowing up from the burning quesadilla and causing the room to fog.

Without thinking, Steve removed his soapy, dripping wet arm from the running faucet to grab the burning hot skillet. As he removed it from the high -- much too high -- heat, Steve was only vaguely aware of how the palm of his hand was starting to blister as it burned him while he turned the hob's heat off. Setting the whole thing in the sink, he knew he was going to throw it out as soon as it was cool enough to do so. There was just no way that Steve was going to scrape off burnt cheese and melted flesh.

"What the hell is going on?" Tony questioned as he entered the kitchen with his hands over his ears.

Deciding not to yell over the obnoxious noise, Steve climbed onto the counter. Choosing to ignore Tony as he yelled at Steve, "For fuck's sake, Steven, who fucking raised you!"

Rolling his eyes, Steve removed the blaring smoke alarm off the wall and ripped the batteries out of it. Once there was finally silence, Steve sassed, "Sarah Rogers raised me, you pompous ass."

"Still," Tony crossed his arms and double downed, "There's no need to climb on the counter like a barbarian."

Hopping down from the counter, Steve crossed his arms, "Happy?"

"Nah, you should've down a backflip," Cassie joked, entering the kitchen.

"Next time," Steve deadpanned as he carelessly tossed the abandoned smoke alarm on the counter.

For a moment, Steve hoped that Tony wouldn't notice the hole in the counter. However, Tony seemed to not be on the precipice of pure exhaustion nor shaky from the abundance of coffee yet. So, unfortunately for Steve, Tony _did_ see the counter. He even spotted the ruined cast iron skillet cooling in the sink.

Throwing his arms up in frustration, Tony exclaimed, "I'm living with a bunch of Neanderthals in my own personal hell."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Cassie rolled her eyes, grabbing a bottled water from the fridge.

Tony's jaw dropped, and that was when Steve broke out into hysterics. Tony might not have been running off fumes, but Steve was. And that was the last straw that broke the camel's back as he doubled over, clenching at his stomach as his laughter rumbled from his shaky frame. Although Tony looked positively mortified, and Cassie was immediately concerned, Steve couldn't stop the laughter. Especially not when Thor's own nervous, drunken giggles joined in.

And yeah, maybe this was all a really bad idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you'd like to read the rough draft of the [adapted](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20037781/chapters/63106711) first six chapters of "Call It What You Want", or official first six chapters on my official [website](https://minnienicole.wixsite.com/official). The paperback and eBook is also now available for [purchase](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08GPMKKJH/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0).
> 
> I just want to say a huge THANK YOU to all of you! Not only those who have read this fic, but who have also supported me in this endeavor! It seriously means so much more than you'll ever know, and I am so excited to share this all with you! So, thank you, thank you, T H A N K Y O U !


	15. Fourteen

**Fourteen:**

"Guys!" Natasha panted as she burst into the room. Holding onto the wall as she caught her breath, she told the group, "You're not going to believe this!"

Hysterics ceasing, Steve righted himself and watched as she turned to run in the opposite direction, back the way she came. Stomach churning, Steve didn't waste any time as he followed. Easily catching up to her as he kept his eyes open. Expecting something catastrophic to have happened. Even though there was a grin tugging at her plump lips, Steve refused to think of anything positive happening.

"You need --" breath "-- to get --" breath "-- a life."

Steve rolled his eyes at that. Returning his attention forward, he crashed into the lab after Nat. That was when he found a woman with green skin sitting on a bench with a wool blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She was clearly shaken, and Steve looked around for Carol. Usually, if there was someone from another planet, it was because of her. And as far as Steve could remember, he hadn't come across anyone with such a vibrant complexion barring Nebula.

"It works," Nebula breathlessly announced.

"What works?" Steve asked, brows furrowing.

"The time machine," Scott answered, looking in awe between the two women.

Noticing that the blue woman was wearing the time suit, Steve's brows furrowed further. Perhaps a nap would've helped the cogs in his brain work quicker, but at the moment, he needed it spelled out for him. Spelled out in _really_ easy words.

"This is Gamora," Bruce introduced, "Nebula's sister."

"Nice to meet you," Steve greeted, extending his hand to the woman.

"From 2018," Bruce finished, causing Steve to stop, mid-shake.

Steve redirected his gaze to the woman, in awe now. Looking her over, he was trying to find any deformities or injuries or _something_ that could've happened in the travel. Heart pounding when he didn't find anything.

"How?" Steve asked, looking from Bruce to Scott to Nebula.

"We sent Nebula back to a place she knew, at an exact time that she remembered," Bruce said, gleeful of the situation.

Scott smiled, "It was so awesome! One moment, we're hoping Nebula will come back in one piece --"

"What?" Nebula asked.

"-- and then we're afraid she split in two," Scott continued.

"What?!" Nebula's voice rose.

"But it's alright! She wasn't split in two; she just had another person with her," Scott eased as though he was genuinely concerned about the trial possibly causing her to split.

Steve's throat felt tight with emotion as he fought back tears of joy. This was going to work! He was so happy that he could kiss someone! However, the only one that he'd want to kiss was gone. But as his eyes trailed back over to Gamora, he knew that he'd get him back. Hopefully soon.

"Did you really have doubts about me?" Tony arrogantly questioned as he stood beside Steve.

Steve glanced down at him, but couldn't fight the grin that tugged at his lips. Crossing his arms along his chest, Steve playfully rolled his eyes and teased, "I'd be an idiot to doubt you."

"Oh, here I was thinking that --"

"Tony, don't make me punch you," Steve gave him A Look that stopped him from ruining the moment.

"So," Cassie started, looking over the adults, "What do we do now?"

"We find the stones," Bruce answered.

"Then, we bring everyone back," Clint said, earning a nod of approval from Steve. As siblings did, they fought and reconciled faster than one could even utter a, "sorry."

"Because that's what heroes do," Thor finished with a loud belch that worked as an exclamation point.

Gamora's expression twisted in disgust at that and Steve sighed. Clapping a hand companionably on Thor's shoulder, he pulled the God of Thunder closer. Once the man was close under his arm, Steve took the beer out of his hand and downed it instead. Half-rejoicing when Thor's protests became encouragement.

Brows furrowing, Steve asked, "Wait, if you brought Nebula's sister back with her, how are we all still here?"

"Still here?" Tony questioned, clarifying, "As in why did nothing change?"

"Yes?" Steve's brows furrowed deeper while he pressed his lips together. Feeling like an idiot under Tony's gaze.

"That's -- uh," Bruce pushed his black frame glasses further up his nose, "That's not how time works. Changing the past doesn't change the future."

"I'm confused," Steve admitted while Scott gleefully pointed at him and said, "See?"

Clearly having already had this conversation with everyone else who had been there, Bruce rubbed at his temples, "If you travel to the past, that past becomes your future. And your former present becomes the past. Which can't now be changed by your new future."

"But what about _Back to the Future_?"

"Right?" Cassie's brows furrowed while Tony asked Steve, "You've seen _Back to the Future_?"

As it often did, Steve's mind wandered over to Bucky. Instead of saying he watched it because of his science-fiction loving beau, Steve answered, "It's about a man out of time."

Thankfully, Tony dropped it at that and didn't question him further. Which surprised Steve probably more than it should have. Nonetheless, Steve knew they didn't have time to talk about movies.

They needed a plan.

"Okay," Steve took in a deep breath, looking around at everyone standing in a loose circle, "So, the _how_ works. Now we gotta figure out the when and the where. Almost all of us has had an encounter with at least one of the six Infinity Stones."

Cassie rose her hand, "I haven't."

"I don't even know what the hell you're all talking about," Scott said, glancing around at everyone.

"Regardless," Bruce cut in, "We only have enough Pym Particles for one round trip each, and these stones have been in a lot of different places throughout history."

"Our history," Tony reminded. Shoving his hands into his pockets, "So, not a lot of convenient spots to just drop in."

"Which means we have to pick our targets," Clint assumed.

"Correct," Nebula confirmed, looking over at her sister who seemed a bit shaken by it all. Considering what happened to _him_ \-- and everyone -- in 2018, he could only imagine what she must be going through.

And really, thank god for Natasha who suggested, "Might be better if we take this to somewhere more comfortable."

"That's a marvelous idea," Thor agreed, raising his hand, only remembering a moment later that he wasn't holding a beer and continuing, "We shall replenish our libations."

Steve closed his eyes and let out a quiet sigh. It was, as always, more directed at Tony who joked, "That's the spirit, Lebowski!" Not many others in the room understood the reference, but those who did uncomfortably shifted before ultimately deciding to leave for the common area of the facility. Choosing not to mock a man who was clearly struggling with his mental health and physical appearance. Which Steve was determined to help with. Even if that meant being a shoulder to lean on.


	16. Fifteen

**Fifteen:**

"Pancakes? Omelet? I could do French toast," Steve offered as he pulled a nonstick skillet out of the cabinet. Making sure not to lean on the freshly repaired portion of counter.

Thor opened the fridge to retrieve another beer, but Steve intercepted. Suggesting, "Maybe wait until we have something to celebrate, yeah?"

"Dear friend, I'm sad to inform that that's not why I…" Thor glanced away, ashamed of appearing weak.

Moving his hand so it would cover Thor's, Steve assured, "None of us having been coping well."

A sad smile tugged at Thor's lips, and he nodded. Thickly swallowing, Thor quietly explained, "I just didn't want to think… Didn't want to feel…"

Gritting his teeth to stop himself from crying, Steve confessed, "Me either." Giving his hand a squeeze, Steve said, "But we _can_ move on. We can _win_."

"Steven," Thor's expression managed to turn just a bit sadder as he corrected, "There is no winning. Only surviving."

Nodding, Steve took Thor's hand off the fridge and suggested, "So, how about we keep a clear head until we're done with the heist."

It was clear that Thor was thinking this over, and Steve hoped that he would agree. Of course, Steve knew that if he was capable of getting drunk, he would be in a heartbeat. Hell, back when Bucky… fell… Steve had spent hours mourning the man in a destroyed bar, pouring his heart out to empty bottles of expensive hard liquor. Trying his hardest to numb the pain of his freshly broken heart. Only, his solace never came.

Not until that fateful day when the drop of a mask impossibly returned the love of his life.

Wondering if talking would help Thor, he asked, "What do you know about the Aether?"

There was a flash of recognition that said Thor definitely understood what Steve was trying to do. Instead of calling him out for his attempt of helping, Thor -- the true saint that he was -- choose to humor him, "Well, first, the Aether isn't a stone. It's more of a… an angry… sludge."

Eventually, Thor moved away from fridge and sat down at the breakfast bar counter. Steve opened the door to pull out a cartoon of eggs and some veggies Pepper had grown in her garden. Deciding on omelets since Thor hadn't shown an interest either way.

"Here's an interesting story though, many years ago… my grandfather had to hide the stones from the Dark Elves --" Thor comically wiggled his fingers at him while making some spooky noises and earning a grin from Steve "-- scary beings. So, Jane -- You remember Jane, yes?"

Steve nodded, still chopping a red pepper. Thor nodded and continued, "Well, Jane, being the curious soul that she is… was, stuck her hand inside of a rock, and the Aether latched onto her. It made her very sick, and I took her home, to Asgard -- Of course, we were dating at the time, so it was… odd… circumstances to meet my… my…"

At Thor's voice cracking and lower lip quivering, Steve cleared his throat and asked, "Do you want onions?"

Still trying to gather himself, Thor nodded and said, "Thank you."

"No problem," Steve reassured, chopping up the onion. Noting that Thor probably wasn't going to finish the story, he decided to go with one of his own to fill the silence. "The first time I came in direct contact with a stone was with the Tesseract in the 40s. I watched it evaporate a man and burn through the belly of a jet. Before that, HYDRA had weaponized it and whoever was shot was just… gone."

"Like, what happened…?" Thor asked, wincing. For who, Steve wasn't sure; it could've been for both of them.

Shaking his head, Steve added the chopped vegetables to the bowl of whisked eggs, and clarified, "No. With them, it was like looking at a picture of someone and then a black screen coming up. You can still see the place where they were, but they're no longer there. Completely removed in a clean manner. It was nothing like… _that_."

"I'm not sure if that's a good thing, or a bad thing."

"That makes two of us," Steve poured some of the mixture into the warm pan.

"I must admit," Thor started, a small smile tugging at his lips, "I never took you for a chef."

"It started with wanting to do something nice for Buck," Steve shrugged, "Then it was just a way to pretend he was still here."

"Is that why you hoard postcards?"

The bearded pair jumped at the teen's voice, and Steve blushed. Glancing at the journal that had remained on the table, Steve looked over at Cassie. Confirming, "Yeah, that's why I _hoard_ postcards."

"Knew it," Cassie playfully mumbled, joining Thor at the counter as they both watched Steve cook.

Her eyes were practically glued to the pan as Steve expertly folded the egg over to create a neat omelet. With a smirk tugging at his lips, Steve teased, "Would you like an omelet?"

"Depends."

"On?" Steve quirked a brow.

"Can I have mine with extra cheese?" Cassie exaggerated a shit-eating grin.

Playing along, Steve feigned exasperation, "I guess."

"May I also have extra cheese?" Thor cautiously cut in.

"Yes, you can have extra cheese," Steve answered. Since the first omelet was cheese-less and done, he decided to just keep it for himself. Reaching back into the fridge, he grabbed the bag of shredded cheese and peeked over his shoulder, "Do you want anything else?"

Cassie theatrically pondered, "If you make mine with ham, are you still a vegetarian?"

Putting on his best unamused, Captain America face, Steve closed the fridge and brought the cheese and packet of diced ham over to the island. Pouring both into the egg and veggie mixture, Steve added a couple more eggs. Mixing it all together, a small smile tugged at his lips as he watched Cassie bashfully steal glances of the God of Thunder.

Eventually, Cassie told Thor, "I like your hair."

"Thank you!" Thor accepted, beaming at the teen as he casually said, "Bruce likes it better braided. It _does_ look better that way."

"I'll bet," Cassie eagerly agreed. Glancing over at Steve, teased, "I think Steve's hair would look nice in a braid, too."

At that, Thor simply lit up as he said, "I'd like to see that."

Not able to fight the smile, Steve appeased, "Maybe after breakfast."


	17. Sixteen

**Sixteen:**

Holding a razor in hand, Steve looked at his reflection. Despite knowing the plan, and what his part in the plan was, he didn't want to shave. Cutting his hair hadn't been so much an issue. Especially not after Cassie managed to braid a small lock of his hair. But shaving? Did he have to?

"This seems unnecessary," Steve told Natasha.

Pulling a funny face as she applied a charcoal mask, Natasha asked, "Do you want this heist to succeed?"

"Obviously," Steve answered because, was that even a question?

"Then, shave it, Steven," Natasha shrugged, "It's not like it _won't_ grow back once you shave it." Then, she good-naturedly teased, "And just because it turns James on doesn't mean that he won't find you attractive once he sees you with a clean face."

Steve's heart fluttered at the thought of seeing Bucky again and hearing him complain about his shaven face. Although it used to irk the shit out of him before, he would gladly listen to it for the rest of time, if it meant that he got to have Bucky back. So, he ran the sharp razor over the shaving cream covered lower half of his face, and just kept replaying the annoyed words Bucky used in the past.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the knowing smirk on Natasha's face. Of course, she would know what would get Steve going. And once she was done applying the mask, she hung around in the communal bathroom and just watched him for a moment.

"You worried?" Natasha asked, her brows set in a heavy furrow.

Mulling it over for a moment, he shrugged, "Not as long as everything goes according to plan." Natasha nodded and crossed her arms. Steve carefully questioned, "You?"

"Me?" Natasha straightened her shoulders and put upon a false bravado, "Ya kidding? I'm excited."

"Right," Steve rolled his eyes and shook his head.

Biting back her grin, Natasha simply held onto the excitement. Fake it till you make it, and all that jazz. Making it feel like a sleepover, she asked, "What're you gonna do when you first see Barnes?"

"I don't kiss and tell," Steve winked. Half of his face clean-shaven while he worked on the other. Kissing the rugged version of himself from the past five years goodbye.

"Oh, c'mon," Natasha teased, playfully pouting as she wondered, "How can I live vicariously through you, if you don't tell me things?"

"Hmm," Steve hummed as he feigned contemplation, "Maybe… get your own life?"

Childishly, Natasha stuck her tongue out as she mocked, "You first."

Being just as playful, Steve mimicked her by sticking out his own tongue. Only briefly though as he got back to shaving. Making sure that he got every patch of hair until he set the razor down for good. Washing the leftover shaving cream and residue off his face and using one of the hand towels as he triple checked his reflection.

Silently, Natasha passed the jar of charcoal gunk along the counter to Steve. Reminding Steve of the many times back when he was fresh out of the ice. Back when he was trying to live in D.C. with a broken heart and a bunch of strangers who were equally unhinged in the same ways he was. Sometimes he missed those days, if only for his sleepovers with Nat that were filled with face masks, junk food, and poorly acted teen comedies of the 90s and early 2000s.

"Sure you don't want to be on my team tomorrow?" Steve asked, scooping out a good amount of the mask.

Despite her own mask hardening and cracking on her face, she smirked, "And miss out on seeing a dominion of death? Not a chance."

"Can't say I blame you," Steve conceded as he stretched his face in odd directions to spread the goo evenly. "I'd say take pictures, but that might be too much."

"So, what do you think of Lang's kid?" Natasha questioned, turning around to wash the mask off her face.

"She's got moxie," Steve shrugged. He liked Cassie and he knew, "Bucky's gonna love her."

"At least he has enough hair to braid," Natasha teased, splashing Steve for added effect.

"He has enough hair to braid," Steve mocked, pitching his voice high before blowing a raspberry out the side of his mouth and playfully shoving her.

Which, of course, only caused her to splash him even more. Getting his white t-shirt wet and causing the tight, cotton material to cling even more to his muscular torso. For a moment, Steve stood there shocked and looked down at his soaked shirt and damp sweatpants.

"Oh goodie, made it just in time for the wet t-shirt contest."

At Tony's comment, Steve glanced over his broad shoulder to look at the shorter man. A towel was thrown over his shoulder and his bag of toiletries in hand. Smirking when he spotted the mask on Steve's face, Tony teased, "How come I wasn't invited to the slumber party?"

"You were busy," Steve clarified, turning back to face the sinks. Pulling the t-shirt off, he used the damp material to wipe the charcoal from his face.

Theatrically, Tony fanned himself as he made his way over to a shower cubical. Steve simply rolled his eyes and dried himself off. Natasha was already making her way out of the communal restroom and Steve reminded her, "Eight a.m. Sharp."

"Yeah, yeah," Natasha waved off over her shoulder.

Gathering his own stuff, Steve called over, "That goes for you too, Tony."

"I heard you the first hundred times, boy scout," was Tony's reply as the shower water started.

"Make sure you get some sleep," Steve said, exiting the bathroom.

As he walked down the hallway, he heard Tony yell over the water and distance, "YOU FIRST!"


	18. Seventeen

**Seventeen:**

After an unsuccessful night of sleep, Steve's stomach filled with butterflies. Today was the day. Today, they'd fix things. Bring back those who Thanos took. Bring back Bucky. Make it right.

With energy from purely too much joy and nervous excitement, Steve quickly dressed for the day. Simple underclothing and a replica of his 2012 Captain America suit. It was tight and Steve hated it, but he had put up with a lot worse to save Bucky before, and he'd do whatever it took for him now. Even if that meant squeezing back into the unflattering costume.

Meeting in the common room, he was glad to see that everyone was there. Everyone looking as wide awake as Steve was, and he knew that they must've been feeling the same energy. Thor even managed to look sober and focused, which gave Steve an extra confidence boost that this was going to work. With everyone in one room, the air felt alive with their energy.

Well, all except for Cassie who was sulking in the corner while nursing a cup of Tony's expensive coffee. It tugged at his heartstrings with how much it reminded him of himself. If anyone knew what it felt like to want to fight, but not be able to, it was Steve.

"You alright?" Steve asked, sitting down on the couch beside her.

"I don't know," Cassie slurped a sip of coffee, "Are you going to give me an after school lecture?"

Steve's brows furrowed, until Cassie sat straighter and mocked, "So, you're not allowed to Time Travel. You've helped with the idea and the planning, but you're still not seen as a team member."

Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, Steve said, "I know that you feel like you're not helping by staying behind, but you are. You're right about helping with the planning -- and even naming it -- but it's best if you stay here. What if something goes wrong? Who would monitor the board? Who would bring us back? Who would make sure that we came back?"

"Gamora," Cassie grumbled, not looking at Steve as she pouted into the mug.

"You can do a lot from staying right here," Steve continued, "And it'll only be five seconds for you."

Cassie rolled her eyes, but a smirk was tugging at her lips. Taking that as assenting to staying behind, Steve stood from the couch. Extending his hand to her, he helped her off the sofa, and he looked around at the group who were talking among each other.

"Alright," Steve clapped his hands to gain everyone's attention, "We have a plan. Six stones, three teams. One shot."

Some people nodded and others stretched their limbs. Enthusiastically, Scott agreed, "Yes! Alright! Let's go!"

So, they headed for the new, and improved, Quantum Time Machine. Steve led the way, trying not to sprint to the machine in his haste to get Bucky back. Nonetheless, he walked with his shoulders back and head held high. He didn't know how long it would take for them to get the stones, but he hoped that it was quicker than he could even say, "On your left."

Climbing onto the platform of the time machine, the group formed a loose circle. Their nanobot time suits covering their other suits as they settled in place. At the panel, Gamora stood, ready to retrieve them if something went awry. Meanwhile, Cassie hugged Scott, and Steve tried not to watch their intimate father-daughter moment, or how scared she probably was in the moment for him to have to leave again.

"Five years ago, we lost. All of us," Steve started once he had the attention of everyone, "We lost friends… We lost family…" Steve paused, feeling the compass in his pocket, "We lost a part of ourselves.

"Today, we have a chance to take it all back. You know your teams, you know your missions. Get the stones, get them back. One round trip each. No mistakes. No do-overs," Steve's stomach churned. He couldn't lose anyone. He couldn't even think about losing anyone.

Clearing his throat, Steve continued, "Most of us are going somewhere we know. But it doesn't mean we should know what to expect. Be careful. Look out for each other. This is the fight of our lives. And we're gonna win. Whatever it takes. Good luck."

From the side, Gamora commented, "He's pretty good at that."

"He practices in the mirror," Cassie teased, taking her spot off to the side beside Gamora.

"Alright, you heard the man," Tony confirmed. Gesturing to Hulk who was explaining the control panel to Gamora and Cassie, Tony instructed, "Stroke those keys, jolly green."

"Tractors engaged," Bruce said as he came to take his place on the Quantum platform.

Rocket gestured to the miniature spaceship in Clint's hand, "You promise to bring that back in one piece, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, I'll do my best," Clint shrugged the raccoon off, ready to go almost as much as Steve was.

"As promises go," Rocket took his place in the loose circle, "That was pretty lame."

As the butterflies started fluttering uncontrollably in Steve's stomach, Natasha excitedly smiled at him, "See you in a minute."

Steve couldn't help his own excited smile from tugging at his lips when he looked down to the petite woman standing beside him. This was it. This time, they weren't going to lose. They were going to win. They had to.

Before anything else could be said, they shrunk, being pulled into the Quantum Realm. They moved quickly through time, making Steve feel like a bullet leaving the barrel of a gun. His vision blurred, his heart raced, and he found his breathing shallow like he was going to have an anxiety attack. Trying to keep his mind off what was currently happening, he was thankful that Tony stark came up with the Time GPS, that allowed the teams to easily split off in their designated direction. Over the dizziness and the nausea, Steve could only hope that everyone was safe and successful in their own times, knowing that this was it. Their one shot.


	19. Eighteen

**Eighteen:**

Materializing in a side street, Steve steadied himself by leaning on an abandoned car. That same anxiousness he felt in 2012 returned to him when he looked around at the debris of fighting the Chitauri. Considering the green hue to Tony's pale skin, Steve was positive that he felt it too.

"Alright, we have our assignments," Steve started gaining the attention of his team. Looking at Scott, Bruce, and Tony as he continued, "Two stones uptown, one stone down. Stay low. Keep an eye on the clock."

With an aggressive bang of something big being crushed, Steve startled. Turning to look back at the street to find Hulk smashing an alien with a car. Even going so far as jumping on top of the overturned car to make sure the alien was dead.

Turning back to face the three men, Bruce bashfully hid his face and Steve suggested, "Maybe smash a few things along the way."

Ripping off his black tank top, Bruce said, "I think it's gratuitous, but whatever."

Going in the opposite direction of Bruce, Steve gave one last glance over his shoulder. Sticking close to the wall and back alleys, Steve made his way to the Avengers Tower. Tony took to the sky as he, and a shrunken Scott, flew in his most recent Iron Man suit.

For a moment, Steve worried that Tony would have an attack. Ever since 2012, Tony had struggled with PTSD. Of course, Steve knew that it was happening long before then -- ever since he was captured -- but going into the wormhole, really messed him up. Not that Steve could blame him. He imagined that he'd be just as anxious as Tony, if he had been the one to do it.

Eventually, the alien sounds ended as the Avengers successfully finished the fight. Steve's mind wandered to the way he felt back then. Fresh out of the ice, trying to figure out the world around him and mourn everyone who was gone. Confused because never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined an alien race coming to their world to conquer them. It would've been cheesy and unrealistic even in those pulps that Bucky loved so much. Idly, Steve wondered if Bucky would've been oddly fascinated of the goings-on.

"Gotta hustle, Cap," Tony said through the comms, "Things look like they're just about wrapped up here."

Entering the tower through the back with codes he remembered like yesterday, Steve replied, "Got it." Running down empty hallways and passing abandoned corridors that were cleared out when the attack hit, Steve confirmed, "I'm approaching the elevator now."

"Uh, Mr. Rogers, I almost forgot that that suit did nothing for your ass," Tony teased.

Slowing his pace to a casual walk, Steve easily paused in front of the elevator. Blushing, he told his teammate, "No one asked you to look, Tony."

Softly, Tony whispered, "It's ridiculous."

Steve rolled his eyes. Scott decided to add, "I think you look great, Cap. As far as I'm concerned, that's America's ass."

His blush growing even darker, he was glad when Tony started describing who Rumlow and Sitwell were to Scott. Of course, once Scott pointed out how obvious it was that they were the bad guys, Steve felt like an idiot. He had been naïve back then. Trying to navigate a world he didn't know, he didn't even question them back then. Figuring that since they worked for an organization that Peggy and Howard founded, and working with Natasha, they had to be on the right side of things.

"Alright, Cap. I got our scepter in the elevator just passing the 80th floor," Tony informed.

Nodding to himself, Steve started heading that way, "On it. Head to the lobby."

"Alright," Tony agreed, "I'll see you there."

Without a hitch, Steve made his way to the correct elevator. Trying not to think about the last time he had been in an elevator with Rumlow. Of course, not completely a bad thing that he became their enemy. After all, it brought Bucky back to him. _Silver lining_.

The doors opened and for a moment, the other men looked surprised to find Steve there. For a moment, he was afraid that they could tell that he wasn't the Steve that they knew in 2012. After all, he knew a lot more of the world. Knew of who they were. Of who they really worked for. Maybe it showed on his face.

Settling in the elevator, Sitwell commented, "Captain, I thought you were coordinating search and rescue?"

Remaining ramrod straight, Steve attempted to ease his stance to seem less threatening, and simply said, "Change of plans."

Steve's skin itched the longer he was in the elevator. He knew that he needed to get it out of Rumlow's grasp and out of HYDRA's hands completely. At least, until he had to unfortunately return it.

"Rumlow," Steve announced, feeling the air shift to one of suspicious unease. Knowing that he had to lie, he hoped that none of his tells were on display as he continued, "I just got a call from the Secretary. I'm gonna be running point on the scepter."

"Sir?" Sitwell's head cocked slightly, "I don't understand."

Very aware of how stiff he was standing, Steve focused on that as he half-lied, "We got word there may be an attempt to steal it."

Clearly not buying it, Rumlow said, "Sorry, Cap. I can't give you the scepter."

Taking after Rumlow, Sitwell reached for his phone, "I'm gonna have to call the Director."

 _Fuck_. Steve's heart stuttered, "That's okay. Trust me." Then, knowing that the only way that they were going to trust him, he'd have to do something that made him sick. Leaning over, he ignored the acidic taste in his mouth as he whispered to Sitwell, "Hail HYDRA."

The air in the elevator shifted. Easing once they assumed Steve was on their side. And since Steve was supposed to be doing what the Secretary, a higher up in both S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA, ordered, Rumlow handed over the silver case that protectively held the scepter. Once it was in Steve's hands, he quickly exited the elevator before they could take it back.

Although he felt sick for lying about where his allegiance lied, he couldn't help the upward tick to his lips. He was one step closer to bringing back those who were taken. He was one step closer to happily ever after.


	20. Nineteen

**Nineteen:**

One step closer to happily ever after. Well, until he heard Scott ask, "That wasn't supposed to happen, was it?"

What made it worse was when Tony replied, "Oh, we blew it."

Steve definitely didn't like hearing that at all. Quickly, he nearly begged, "Tony, what's going on? Tell me you found the cube."

Only, he didn't get a reply. Instead, he turned the corner to find his younger, naïve self. Groaning, he complained under his breath, "Oh, you gotta be shitting me."

Talking into his own communication ear piece, 2012 Steve claimed, "I have eyes on Loki. Fourteenth floor."

"I'm not Loki," Steve corrected, cautiously setting the scepter's case down, "And I don't wanna hurt you."

Instead of answering, 2012 charged with his shield lifted to decapacitate Steve. Luckily, Steve had brought his own shield up to block the blow. Knowing most of 2012's moves and fighting style, Steve had the upper hand. Blocking shield blows with his own shield and dodging out of the way of an impressively high kick.

However, it seemed that not much of Steve's fighting style had changed over the years as he went to kick the younger version of himself, only to have 2012 block and kick him first. Effectively knocking him, not only on his ass, but a good 12 feet from where he had been standing. Even causing him to slide further back.

"I can do this all day," 2012 said.

And yeah, maybe that was annoying to hear during a fight. Or perhaps it was the whole situation because, exasperated, Steve pushed himself up and deadpanned, "Yeah, I know. I know."

Deciding enough was enough, Steve threw his shield at his younger self. Unfortunately, 2012 had a similar idea, causing the shields to bounce off each other with a loud clang. With the shields falling off the glass bridge, both star-spangled men charged at each other. Blocking and dodging punches.

When 2012 managed to land a hit along his cheek, Steve grabbed his arm, pulled him over his back and flipped him to the ground. Not that the man stayed down. _Got no god damn sense_ , Bucky used to say and damn it if he wasn't right.

Both men grabbing each other in a lock, Steve managed to knee 2012 in his side. Going to repeat the blow, however, 2012 moved out of the way and Steve's foot knocked the case through the glass barrier of the bridge. It wasn't the first time that Steve had wondered why these glass and steel bridges were made, but he resented Tony's modern architectural flare even more in that moment.

Trying to knock 2012's feet out from under him, Steve miscalculated and the pair slipped in the broken glass. Slipping over the side of the bridge and falling. Dropping quickly through glass balcony floors. Tumbling and bouncing harshly down sets of stairs. And slipping in between the spiral staircases until landing roughly on solid ground.

Although Steve had more of a difficult time standing than the younger him, when he found 2012 holding his compass in his hand, he felt as though his knees were going to give out beneath him. He hadn't carried Peggy's picture as a cover for years, but back in 2012, he still was. Unsure of how people felt about men like him, he hadn't removed it until the following year after he witnessed his first Pride parade.

2012 was gazing at the compass, but Steve couldn't read his expression. Not with that stupid helmet on. But when his voice nearly broke, Steve knew that he was fearful and he was angry, "Where did you get this?"

Instead of answering, Steve made a fast grab for the scepter that laid out of the case on the ground. Not that it did anything as 2012 stepped on it and put Steve in a chokehold. Throwing them to the ground, 2012 had the upper hand, but that didn't stop Steve from rolling, trying to shake his younger self off.

All he had to do was reach for --

2012 harshly tugged Steve's arm back to his side and tightened his hold around his neck. Fighting for air, Steve attempted to remove the arm pressing along his neck.

Steve knew that only one thing would stop him, so he breathlessly rasped, "Bucky… is… alive!"

Immediately, 2012's hold slackened and he dropped his arms entirely as he asked, "What?"

Only, Steve got one good punch to his nose. Not seriously injuring his younger self, just enough to disorient the man long enough for him to grab the scepter. Thankfully, he was closer now and he grasped it in his hand, rolling back just in time to see 2012 moving.

Touching it to 2012's chest, the younger Steve paused. Frozen for a moment before dropping unconscious on the floor. Letting out a breath of relief, Steve rolled onto to his knees. Grabbing his compass as he stood.

Still catching his breath, he took a moment to admire his frame and agreed with Scott, "That is America's ass."

Quickly, Steve carried the scepter out of the tower and made his way back to the side street that they first materialized in. Trying not to dwell on what he overheard through the comms. Because no. They couldn't fail. Not after everything they had already done.

"Cap."

Turning, Steve found Tony and Scott sitting remorsefully in a broken car. Tony looked absolutely broken as he admitted, "Sorry, buddy. We got a… problem."

Scott humorlessly laughed at that, "Yeah, we do."

"Well, what are we gonna do now?" Steve asked, refusing to see that as the end. Because it wasn't. The only way that Steve would accept that it was the end was over his own dead body.

"You know what? Give me a break, Steve," Tony rolled his eyes, "I just got hit in the head with the Hulk."

"You said that we had one shot. This --" Scott waved his arms around theatrically, "This was our shot. We shot it. It's shot. Six stones or nothing. Six stones or nothing --"

"You're repeating yourself, you know that?" Tony interrupted, "You're repeating yourself."

Scott turned his anxious energy on Tony as he accused, "You're repeating yourself. You're repeating yourself. You know -- no."

"Dude, come on," Tony rolled his eyes.

As the pair bickered, Steve tried to keep his own growing anxiety at bay. But he was having a difficult time doing so. After all, this was their one shot. They only had enough Pym Particles for one round trip each. How could they even get another stone, if they knew where to find it?

"Are there any other options with the Tesseract?" Steve interrupted their pointless arguing.

"No, no, no. There's no other options. There's no do-overs," Scott rushed with his nerves awry, "We're not going anywhere else. We have one particle left, each. That's it, alright? We use that -- Bye, bye. You're not going home."

Gritting his teeth, Steve lowly said, "Yeah, well if we don't try, then no one else is going home, either."

"I got it," Tony took a step towards Steve, "There's another way. To retake the Tesseract and acquire new particles. We'll stroll down memory lane. Military installation, Garden State."

That little piece of hope wiggled in Steve's heart as he asked, "When were they both there?"

"They were there at a --" Tony paused as he thought. Deciding, "I've got a vaguely exact idea."

"How vague?" Steve questioned.

"What are you talking about? Where are we going?" Scott piped up, brows furrowed as he looked between the men.

Tony ignored Scott, "I know for a fact they were there --"

"Who's they?" Scott asked, "What are we doing?"

"And I know how I know," Tony continued, looking at Steve intently.

"Guys, what's up? What is it?" Scott questioned again, desperately wanting to be in the loop.

"Well, it looks like we're improvising," Tony finally answered him.

As Scott started questioning more, Steve handed the scepter to him and said, "Get this back to the compound."

"Suit up," Tony instructed, so Steve did, letting the nanobot Time Suit cover him.

As they coordinated their Time GPS, Steve's heart raced and he asked, "Are you sure?"

"Cap. Captain. Steve, sorry, America. Rogers," Scott nervously started. When Steve looked over at him, Scott reminded, "If you do this -- and this doesn't work -- you're not coming back."

Although Steve knew that was true, he didn't want it to be.

"Thanks for the pep talk, pissant," Tony sarcastically told Scott. Turning to Steve, he asked, "Do you trust me?"

Looking at Tony, Steve decided, "I do."


	21. Twenty

**Twenty:**

Having changed into some fatigues, so he'd blend in made Steve want to fidget, but didn't. Instead, he walked fast. Meanwhile, Tony beside him -- newly dressed in a 70s era suit -- decided to talk to stop himself from fidgeting.

"Clearly, you weren't actually born here, right?" Tony attempted to keep his pace up with Steve's despite having shorter legs.

Steve rolled his eyes and clarified, "The idea of me was."

"Right," Tony nodded, looking around, scanning the grounds, and peeking in windows, "Well, imagine you're S.H.I.E.L.D., running a quasi-fascistic intelligence organization. Where do you hide?"

Subtly, Steve gestured towards the building he was looking at, the one where he had found Zola with Nat. The one that had been blown up to kill them, Steve reasoned, "In plain sight."

So, the pair headed for the building. Managing unnoticed for the most part, even if Steve was nervous that he'd be recognized. Especially in the elevator where a woman looking over a file glanced up at Steve one too many times to make him comfortable. Even making Tony cautious as he took a step forward to block her line of sight.

However, with their different objects, the pair were set for two different floors. Tony happened to get off first, making Steve's palms itch when the woman asked, "You're new here?"

Steve shifted uncomfortably, "Not exactly."

Once Steve's floor came, he exited with a sigh of relief. He briskly walked down the semi-crowded hallway and looked for a phone. Finding one, he dialed the correct number and waited while it rang. Hiding out of sight as he hoped that no one was watching him.

When the phone answered, Steve greeted, "Hello. Dr. Pym?"

"That would be the number that you called, yes."

Rolling his eyes, Steve tried to remind himself to stay focused, "This is Captain Stevens from shipping. We have a package for you."

Dismissively, Dr. Hank Pym said, "Bring it up."

"Well, that's the thing, sir --" _I need you out of the lab_ "-- We can't."

"I'm confused. I thought that was your job."

_God, he's even more of a prick than Tony. Didn't know that was possible!_

"Well, it's just -- Sir, the box is glowing," Steve easily lied, "And, to be honest, some of our mail guys aren't feeling that great."

"They didn't open it, did they?" He sounded nervous, _bingo_.

"Yeah, they did," Steve bit back his grin, "You better get down here."

Bursting from his lab, Pym ran down the hallway, yelling at people to get out of his way as he weaved through them. Steve hung up the phone and took one glance around himself to make sure the coast was clear before entering the lab. There was a lot of stuff that Steve didn't have a clue about, but he didn't have enough time to casually peruse his inventions. He had a mission. Small vials of red liquid.

Eyes scanning into glass observatory boxes, Steve walked further into the lab. Then, he found them. Grinning, Steve carefully grabbed four vials and paused for a moment. Wondering if he should take more. After assuming that once they brought everyone back, Pym could just create more if they needed them in the future, Steve left.

Speed walking on his way to meet up with Tony. Praying that he found the Tesseract and didn't fu--

"And you've never seen these two men before?"

Steve spotted the woman from the elevator talking to a guard, and felt his skin prickle. As they got closer, Steve ducked into a dark office. Hiding off to the side once inside as he waited for the woman and guard to pass him. As he turned his head, he did a double take when he noticed the pictures on the desk.

Or rather, recognized the beautiful brunette in them.

Glancing at the door, Steve found:

_Margaret Carter  
Director_

A small, nostalgic smile stretched Steve's lips as he looked over the portrait of Peggy in a white short-sleeve lace gown along with a handsome brunet in a wide black suit. Peggy's hair was pinned back, away from her face, while his hair was slicked back the same way Bucky used to wear it for special occasions. His left hand was grasping onto a wooden cane while his other was playfully shoving a piece of wedding cake into Peggy's face. Not that she wasn't doing the same with smearing the piece along his mouth.

Beside it, there was a picture of a little girl, no older than three, with bouncy, wild brown curls and Peggy's smile. In her chubby hands was a small frog. Clearly, she had caught it herself considering the mud covering her pastel pink dress and clumping in her hair.

Scanning to another picture, that one of a little boy, no older than six. His brown hair was just as wild as the girls as he flashed a missing-tooth grin. The right half of his white shirt was tucked into his brown shorts while the left side hung over. Normal kid bruises dotted his legs the same way they had in Steve's youth from climbing trees -- even against Bucky's pleas.

For half a second, Steve thought about how _he_ was written to have that life with Peggy. How history books claimed they were lovers and how she was set to marry him, and _isn't it such a shame that he sacrificed himself, so she, and everyone else could live? How heartbroken she must be. Now she has to settle for someone else instead of the Great Captain America._

Steve never really liked what history books claimed about him, but over the years, he had grown to hate it. How dare they see Director Margaret Carter and think that she was nothing more than a woman that Steve _might_ have married? She was intelligent and determined and more courageous than Steve had Ever been. And definitely more than just an almost love interest! Peggy deserved everything that she had because she worked her ass off for it and made it possible for women to follow in her lead.

Even if Steve had been found, he knew, deep in his bones, that he wouldn't have married Peggy. His heart belonged to Bucky. Had belonged to him long before he realized it at the age of sixteen. And Steve knew that loving Peggy with a heart that was broken and scarred wasn't a good enough way to love her.

Looking over the pictures of Peggy and her husband and their children, Steve hoped --

A door opened in the room connected to Peggy's office. Steve startled, watching as Peggy walked into the room and threw her head back in annoyance at whatever the man who followed her in said. Steve's heart twitched in his chest, knowing that expression very well and missing the way she used to call him dramatic.

Throat tightening with emotion, Steve stepped closer to the window. On his side, the blinds were down, but open. He didn't step too close, just enough to really look at her. Wrinkles were visible around her eyes and mouth, and tears started building in his eyes. She might not have been the love of his life, but she was one the best friends a man could ask for.

After he came out of the ice to find that she was still alive, it had been a weight lifted off his chest. Even after finding out that she dealt with Alzheimer's and watching the sad unraveling of her linear line of time, it was still a relief. And when he got the text that she had passed, it hurt. He didn't get to say goodbye. Not really. At the time he had been busy trying to keep autonomy over himself and protect his teammates while still looking for Bucky.

With a sad smile and a tear rolling over his cheek, Steve softly said, "Goodbye, Pegs."

Wiping the tear from his face, Steve turned and peeked his head out of the office. Once he found the coast was clear, he left the building, looking for Tony. Finding him talking to Howard, Steve paused, not wanting to interrupt that. After all, he didn't get his moment with him either.

Eventually, Tony spotted him and Howard left. Steve hoped that Tony felt as light as he did in that moment. If nothing else, Steve was glad for this detour.


	22. Twenty-One

**Twenty-One:**

Being materialized for the last time -- Steve hoped -- he was glad to be back at the facility. Especially with how nauseous and dizzy the time traveling had made him. The only thing that made him feel better was looking around at everyone else gathering themselves and knowing that they were safe. They succeeded.

"Did we get them all?" Bruce asked, regaining his own balance.

Rhodey seemed shocked, "You telling me this'll actually work?"

Excited murmurs broke out amongst them and Steve happily turned to look at Nat. Only, she wasn't there. Instead, Clint was holding back tears and Steve's stomach dropped. _No_ , Steve swallowed thickly, _she can't be_ \-- He couldn't even think about what could've happened, all he could think was, _no. No, no, no, no, NO._

"Clint," Bruce asked, "Where's Nat?"

 _Whatever it takes_ , that was what they each agreed to, but Steve sure as shit didn't agree to this. They weren't supposed to lose anyone else. That wasn't part of the fucking plan.

While Steve's knees locked, Bruce's buckled as he dropped to the platform and punched at it in his grief. Steve felt like punching something too, but he knew from experience that it wouldn't do anything; it'd just make his knuckles sore. Plus, he doubted that Natasha would approve of him beating up on Clint, the one person who was supposed to make sure that she came back.

"We had to sacrifice what we loved to get the stone," Clint rasped as he attempted to keep his emotion at bay, "And she jumped."

Steve's jaw clenched so he wouldn't say something that he'd regret. Instead, he dropped his Captain America shield and walked off the Quantum platform. Not wanting to spend another minute in those stupid fatigues or smelling of sweat. But mainly, he didn't want people to see him cry.

"Steve," Tony called after him, but he just kept walking.

More people called after him, but he just kept walking. Making his way all the way to the bathroom where he walked directly into a shower cubical. Still fully clothed, Steve turned the water on as hot as it could go and let his tears fall. Sure his skin was turning red and burning from the temperature, but Steve couldn't feel it. Not even as his skin started to blister.

"Steve?"

Looking over his shoulder, he found Cassie. Her brow was set in a heavy furrow and unshed tears were glazing over her eyes; fighting to fall and roll down her cheeks. Softly, Cassie demanded, "Turn off the water. You're hurting yourself."

Not wanting to upset the girl, Steve shut off the water. Fatigues drenched and exposed skin burned, Steve didn't like that she was seeing him like that, even if his sores were healing by the second. Clearing his throat, Steve asked, "Ya mind?"

Holding her hands up in her defense, she didn't sass as she left the communal bathroom. Once she was gone, Steve crossed the room, feet squishing in the soggy socks and wet boots. Locking the door, Steve stripped from the wet items of clothing and, although half of him wanted to just leave them in a clump on the floor, he was mindful enough to toss them in the trash can after wringing them out.

Wrapping a towel around his waist, Steve left the bathroom and headed for his room. Locking that door too as he threw on some clean clothes. And while he'd like to just throw himself onto the bed and cry into his pillows, he knew that he couldn't do that. Natasha wouldn't have wanted him to do that.

In a haze, his legs carried him out to the dock where the guys were addressing the situation. Tony asked, "Do we know if she had any family?"

"Yeah," the men turned to look back at Steve as he continued, " _Us_."

Thor, confused in his grief, questioned, "You're acting like she's dead. Why are you acting like she's dead? We have the stones, right? As long as we have the stones, Steve --" he clapped his hand on Steve's shoulder "-- we can bring her back, isn't that right? So, stop this shit. We're the Avengers, get it together."

Clint shook his head, "We can't get her back."

Agreeing with Thor, Steve asked, "Why not?"

"It can't be undone," Clint dramatically waved his arms as though to prove his point, "It can't."

"I'm sorry. No offense," Thor scoffed, "But you're a very earthly being. Okay? We're talking about _space magic_. And, "can't," seems very definitive, don't you think?"

"It. Can't. Be. Undone," Clint enunciated. Steve grit his teeth and Clint continued, "It just can't --"

"There _has_ to be a way," Steve interrupted. Approaching the shorter man as he reminded, "Not very long ago, we thought that _this_ would be impossible and that what Thanos did couldn't be undone, but look at what we've done! We're the god damn Avengers, as long as we _try_ , we can find a way!"

"Oh, yeah, so I'm just not _trying_? Is that what you're saying, _Cap_?!" Clint shoved at Steve's broad chest. "You think you're the only one who cares about her?"

Although it wasn't the smart thing to do, Steve shoved him back. "Out of the two of us, who's the one that was with her when she picked up _our_ slack? When she carried this team on her back? When she broke down because she was _trying_ to get the world to some kind of normal? I know the answer, and it wasn't fucking you!"

Instead of increasing the physical aggression, Clint took a step back. His expression split open in his anguish and he said, "It should've been me at the bottom of that cliff, but it's not. She sacrificed her life for that god damn stone. She bet her life on it."

At that, Bruce removed the sturdy bench from its bolts and launched the piece of furniture across the lake. Anger momentarily spent, he turned to face the other four men, "She's not coming back. Not right now, at least. So, we have to make it worth it. We have to."

Determined, Steve left no room for argument, "We will."


	23. Twenty-Two

**Twenty-Two:**

They didn't have time to waste. Tony, Bruce, and Rocket worked on creating a gauntlet to hold the stones, Steve changed into one of his former Captain America suits; wanting to be prepared for anything. Plus, Bucky always commented on how the suits complimented his ass, and Steve wanted to look good for him. It had been five -- no, six. Six years now, since Steve had last seen Bucky. And since the beard was gone, he needed to make up for it somehow.

A knock at his door startled him and he took one final glance at his reflection before crossing his room to answer the door. Cassie stood there, frustration ebbed off her and Steve asked, "Everything okay?"

"The gauntlet's ready," Cassie answered instead, crossing her arms.

"So, why aren't you happier?" Steve questioned, following her down the hallway.

"I'm happy."

Steve good-humoredly scoffed, "Might wanna tell that to your face."

That startled a laugh out of her, and Steve's shoulders eased. Sighing, Cassie tucked her hair behind her ear and confessed, "I'm not allowed in there when… you know…"

"That's for your protection," Steve easily assured.

"I'm not a child," Cassie huffed, rolling her eyes.

Steve shook his head and reiterated, "It's not because of your age. It's because that thing could blow up for all we know, and we want to make sure that nothing happens to you. Hell, if Bucky was here, I'd make sure that he stayed out of there, too."

Although Steve could see that he was getting the point across, Cassie still argued, "I should be in there."

"When you're officially part of the Avengers, I want you to remember this moment," Steve teased, pausing at the hallway crossroads. Before heading in the direction towards the lab, he said, "For the record, you're going to make a great team member."

"You think?" Cassie asked, a sparkle in her eyes at the compliment.

"That's why I said it," Steve smirked, parting and walking in the opposite direction of her, all the while knowing to his very core that she'd be an amazing member. With her determination alone, she'd be a major asset. And he had no doubt that she'd make all of them proud.

Arriving in the lab, he found that his teammates were surrounding a table. Joining them, he gazed upon the gauntlet. It caused Steve's heart to twitch, as though it belonged just a little more to the right, closer to the gauntlet.

"Question is," Rocket started, "Who's gonna snap their freaking fingers?"

"I'll do it," Thor readily volunteered.

"Excuse me?" Scott asked, looking worried.

Sure, Thor wasn't drunk off his ass, but Steve wasn't sure if he was in the right headspace. As awful as that made Steve feel to admit.

"It's okay," Thor assured, reaching for the gauntlet.

Blocking him, Steve stood directly between the gauntlet and Thor. Holding his hand up, "We haven't decided who's gonna put that on yet."

"We're just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity?" Thor asked, not wanting to wait any longer.

Scott conceded, "We should at least discuss it."

"No, no," Thor shook his head, trying to walk around Steve and the other men to get at it, "Sitting here staring at that thing is not gonna bring everybody back. I'm the strongest Avenger, okay? So, this responsibility falls upon me. It's my duty."

Tony argued, "It's not about that --"

"Just let me do it," Thor interrupted. Tears building in his eyes, "Just let me do something good. Something right."

Steve's chest clenched, knowing how Thor felt in that moment. He wanted to redeem himself, show that he was a hero. _Be_ a hero.

Bruce reasoned, "It's gotta be me."

Immediately, Thor didn't like that idea. Although they had put their relationship on hold, that didn't mean that they didn't still love each other. It reminded Steve of the days where Bucky was coming out of his conditioning when he didn't know who he was or how to love himself, let alone Steve.

"No," Thor aggressively shook his head as he stepped in front of Bruce. Placing his hands on Bruce's hulking chest, he pleaded, "It has to be _me_. Lightning courses through _my_ veins."

Shaking his head, Bruce cupped Thor's face in his large hand, "You saw what those stones did to Thanos. It almost _killed_ him. None of you could survive."

"How do we know you will?" Steve softly asked, not wanting to interrupt their moment, but knowing that they needed to get on with it.

"We don't," Bruce redirected his attention to the other men, "But the radiation's mostly gamma." Looking over Thor's head at the gauntlet, Bruce almost seemed as though he was in a trance, "It's like… I was made for this."

"Well, I guess there's no arguing with that," Thor said, trying to put on a brave face, but not necessarily doing so.

Bruce tenderly stroked his large thumb over Thor's cheek, catching some tears before walking around him to where the gauntlet was laying. Before he could pull it onto his hand, Tony asked, "You sure you wanna do this, big guy?"

"Let's do it."

"You remember -- everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago and just bringing them back to now, today. Don't change anything from the last five years," Tony reminded.

Bruce nodded, "Got it."

Preparing for -- honestly, Steve wasn't sure what. But he brought his shield up, and everyone else prepared for an energy push. If it even was an energy push. Steve hoped that it wasn't anything worse than that. Especially not as Tony took the most precaution by having the facility put on lockdown.

"Everybody comes home," Bruce reassured.

Then, he placed his hand into the gauntlet. The metallic glove expanding and reforming itself until it fit him perfect. Once it did, the power from the stones surged up Bruce's arm. Not only causing him great pain but burning his arm. Even the material of his shirt was singed and turned to ash.

"Take it off!" Thor demanded, moving to approach Bruce, as though he, himself was going to rip it off his love's hand, "Take it off!"

"No, wait," Steve held up his hand from Bruce. Remembering how much pain he had been in when he undergone the serum in Project Rebirth, he checked in, "Bruce, are you okay?"

When he didn't say anything, Tony instructed, "Talk to me, Banner."

"I'm okay," Bruce visibly struggled, "I'm okay."

As the power intensified, so did the pain. Bruce screamed out, and Steve wondered if Thor was right and he should take it off. But then, Bruce managed to snap his fingers, and Steve's heart raced.

While Steve's mind conjured pretty daydreams of reuniting with Bucky, Bruce fainted. Causing a heavy thud as he dropped to the floor and the gauntlet falling off his newly crippled arm. Clint kicked it away, and Steve moved out of the way, so Thor could soothe Bruce.

"Did it work?" Steve asked, as F.R.I.D.A.Y. removed the lockdown protocol and, call him crazy, but it seemed like the sun was shining brighter.

In front of the floor to ceiling windows, Scott happily called, "Guys, I think it worked!"

From a table, Clint's cellphone rang and that little nugget of hope grew in Steve's heart. When Clint was too emotional to fully talk, and instead just greeted the caller, Steve reached for his own phone.

Just as he was about to grasp the smooth surface, he was blown away. Literally, a missile crashed into the facility, destroying it and sending them flying in different directions.

Groaning out in pain and annoyed with the ringing in his ears, Steve pushed the debris off of himself and rolled off his back. Moving to his knees as he pushed himself upright, knowing that he was over this. Over being nearly killed. Over feeling like he was about to die at any second. And he knew that he had to end this.


	24. Twenty-Three

**Twenty-Three:**

"You might need this," Cassie panted, covered in dirt and hair matted with debris as she handed the shield to Steve.

Worried about her being on a battleground, Steve unsteadily herded her away from where the fight was going to take place. "What are you doing out here?"

Narrowing her eyes at him, Cassie said, "I can take care of myself."

"Not out here you can't," Steve argued, knowing that she'd get hurt. Or worse. Glancing around, he wondered where Scott was. Shaking his head, he said, "You need to go. Now."

"If anyone else can fight, I can, too!"

From deep in the marrow of his bones, Steve sighed in frustration, understanding now what Bucky had gone through with him. Understanding how Cassie felt too, Steve agreed, "You stay out of the way and you only fight when you have to defend yourself, got it?"

Cassie beamed, "Got it."

Finally taking the shield from her, Steve headed for Thor, finding that Tony in his Iron Man suit was also making his way that way. For a moment, Steve could feel Cassie shadowing him, but was thankful when she listened about staying off to the side. His left, to be more exact. His far, far left.

"What's he been doing?" Tony asked, with all three of them watching Thanos just… sit there.

"Absolutely nothing," Thor answered.

Steve looked around at the destroyed landscape and questioned, "Where are the stones."

"Somewhere under all this," Tony used a wide sweep of his arm to gesture in front of them. "All I know, is that _he_ doesn't have them."

"So, we keep it that way," Steve said, keeping his eye on the large purple titan.

"Good. Just as long as we're all under agreement," Thor replied. Thunder crackled through the sky as he stretched both hands to summon Stormbreaker and Mjolnir. Magically, his casual, comfy clothes transforming into his battle gear. "Let's kill him properly this time."

The trio walked through the -- mostly -- cleared path to confront Thanos. As they got closer, the titan started monologuing about some stupid shit that started properly pissing Steve off. Not only had this man taken away the love of his life, but he had the audacity to sit there and act like he was better?

His companions must have felt the same as him as Thor let out a battle cry and Tony charged. Steve ran up, too. Not caring if the man was stronger than him, Steve had more fight in him. This time, he was out for blood. Only getting angrier when the man simply shoved him away, sending him flying into a pile of broken foundation.

Not that a bunch of debris was going to stop Steve. Getting right back up, he'd fight Thanos tooth and nail for what he did to them, least of all, for what he did to Bucky.

Steve's anger fueled him through fancy, spinning kicks and every executed punch. Every time that Thanos got the upper hand on him, Steve was glad to have Tony and Thor fighting with him. A refreshing contrast to what it had been like all those years ago in Wakanda.

After Tony was flung elsewhere due to a poorly aimed Mjolnir, Steve rushed up to the purple titan. Managing to even land a kick to his face. If this wasn't life or death, he would've taken a moment to feel proud about that accomplishment. Of course, the pride didn't last long when Thanos sent him flying through a pile of dirt and concrete with a single punch.

Trying to catch his breath, Steve stayed there for a beat longer than he would've liked. How many times had Steve been on a battlefield and made it on the other side alive? How many of those was from just dumb luck?

Shaking his head, Steve pushed himself back to his feet. Taking a cursory glance around to make sure that Cassie wasn't stupid enough to try and fight. Luckily, she seemed to have the good wherewithal to be nowhere in sight. Which was definitely for the best when Steve found Thanos standing over Thor, pressing Stormbreaker to his chest, going for the kill.

Needing something far stronger than himself and the vibranium shield, Steve decided to try. Reaching out his hand, the way he'd seen Thor do, he clenched his jaw and hoped this would work.

Eventually -- faster than Steve had expected -- the handle smacked against his palm. Not taking a moment to pause, Steve threw the powerful hammer. Hitting Thanos's arm and causing his balance to waver as he stopped shoving the axe into Thor's chest.

When Mjolnir returned to him, Thanos stood, turning to face him with a look of awe on his face. Spinning the hammer off to his side as he charged for Thanos, who in return, ran towards him. Meeting in the middle, Steve slammed Mjolnir upward under Thanos's chin, causing the titan to fly up before crashing down.

If only he had stayed down.

Trying everything he could think of as he fought the man. Throwing his shield, which was blocked. Using the shield as a backboard as he threw Mjolnir and it bounced off, hitting Thanos in the back of the head. Even conjuring lightning.

However, Thanos soon regained the upper hand. Knocking Mjolnir out of his hand and slicing at the inside of his thigh. Steve didn't give up though. Not even with Thanos's large double-sided sword sent him flying. Sure, he might not have gotten up as fast as he had previously, but he refused to give up. He never gave up as a 90 pound runt from Brooklyn, and he wasn't about to give up now. Even if he was struggling to stand up.

"In all my years of conquest -- violence -- slaughter," Thanos started, "It was never personal. But I'll tell you now, what I'm going to do with your stubborn, annoying little planet, I'm gonna enjoy it. Very, very much."


	25. Twenty-Four

**Twenty-Four:**

Finally getting to his feet, Steve watched as an army of Thanos's followers descended onto the makeshift battleground. Nausea roiled through his stomach at fighting them alone. There was no _trying_ about it. Steve would fight to his death. Even single-handedly.

Which seemed like a very real possibility since his teammates seemed to still be down.

Tightening the straps on the shield, Steve leveled his breathing to a calmer, more manageable rhythm. Ready to charge before his comm crackled with static. His stomach dropped. He was truly alone. He would be fighting al--

"Hey, Cap, you read me?"

Sam's deep voice shocked Steve to his core. Bringing his hand up to his chest, Steve made sure that he was, in fact, still alive. While they were hopeful that they'd be able to bring them back, for a good while, Steve wasn't sure they'd be able to. Not even once Bruce snapped his fingers.

"Cap, it's Sam. Can you hear me?"

Steve couldn't find his voice. His throat was too tight with emotion as his eyes filled with tears. All those times when he reached for his phone with the intention to call Sam, only to realize he couldn't came rushing back to Steve. He was relieved to know that they succeeded.

"On your left."

Brows furrowed, Steve turned to find a shimmering, sparking portal open. Standing there was Okoye, Shuri, and T'Challa, ready to fight. Steve shared a look with them as Sam flew over them, exiting the portal. Around him, more portals opened revealing more people from different locations.

The only thing that Steve could focus on though, was Bucky. More handsome than he remembered, the brunet ran past the royal family towards him. Steve's heart slammed against his ribs as though it was trying to burst from his chest to reach Bucky sooner.

"I thought I told you not to do anything stupid," Bucky said, joining Steve. As he surveyed the ground and their threat, Steve's eyes stayed on him. Not believing that he was there. That he was close enough to touch. That he could lean over and smell that woodsy, sensual cologne that had lingered in his mind, losing its Buckiness over the years. That he could feel that stubble on his chin and tangle his fingers in those messy strands.

Bucky was alive, and tears broke the dam.

Silently, tears rolled over the bottom half of his mask and stained his dirt covered jaw. Finally returning his gaze to Steve, Bucky's brow furrowed. Bucky's hand twitched, as though he was about to wipe Steve's tears, but Steve knew that he wouldn't. Not when they were facing a battle. Yet, it lit Steve up and held a promise, "soon."

With his faith restored and his anger building, Steve finally tore his eyes from his lover and glared at Thanos. Ready to finish this, once and for all, Steve announced, "Avengers --" Mjolnir smacked into his hand when he summoned it "-- ASSEMBLE!"

From somewhere down the line, Thor made a battle cry, as did T'Challa. Bucky by his side, Steve charged forward. Thanos's army started running towards them as well, and Steve was positive that none of them were going to touch Bucky. Of course, that didn't mean that Bucky wasn't going to harm _them_.

Having each other's backs, they fought in tandem. Taking out one alien after another. Steve took out all his anger and frustration over the past six years on those who fought for Thanos. Giving it his all as he brought them down. Even using the Mjolnir by throwing it and hitting multiple individuals.

When Steve held his hand out and caught Stormbreaker, he turned to find Thor holding Mjolnir. Teasingly, Thor shook his head and gestured for the magical axe, "No, no, give me that. You have the little one."

Smirking, Steve accepted it and got back to fighting. All the while, keeping an eye on Bucky, making sure that he was okay. Sweat dripping down his neck, Steve heard Clint ask over the comms, "Cap, what do you want me to do with this damn thing?"

Not wanting them anywhere near Thanos, Steve demanded, "Get those stones as far away as possible!"

"No!" Bruce exclaimed, Steve winced at the loud sound in his ear, "We need to get them back to where they came from."

"No way to get them back," Tony sighed, "Thanos destroyed the Quantum Tunnel."

"Hold on," Scott shrunk from his giant form, "That wasn't our only time machine."

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Perking at the musical horn, Steve looked around and asked, "Anyone see an ugly brown van?"

"Yes!" Brunnhilde answered, "But you're not gonna like where it's parked."

Tony asked, "How long do you need to get that thing working?"

"Maybe ten minutes," Scott estimated.

Steve ordered, "Get it started. We'll get the stones to you."

"We're on it, Cap," a female's voice replied. Considering he didn't know that tone and she was working with Scott, he assumed that it was none other than Hope.

Almost as soon as that plan was set into motion, Thanos's spaceship started shooting cannons down at them. Steve's heart raced as he attempted to move out of the way for one of them. Knowing that this was no place for Bucky. Not anymore. Steve pushed the man.

"What the hell, Steve?"

"You need to get out of here," Steve rushed, eyes darting around as he tried to stay aware of his surroundings.

"You hit your head?" Bucky questioned. Fiercely declaring, "I'm _not_ leaving you!"

"You have to," Steve pleaded. Glancing at higher ground, Steve gestured, "Up there. You can watch me better. Like old times."

Bucky narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but he agreed, taking some steps backwards, "Just know that _I know_ what you're doing."

While the Avengers fought and tried to get the gauntlet to the time machine, Steve noticed that Thanos had spotted it. Ordering more of his people to attack T'Challa, who was running the gauntlet across the battlefield.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Steve watched as the gauntlet switched hands to the younger member. The spider kid. What was his name? Steve couldn't remember, but when the kid doubled over to protect the stones, Steve threw Mjolnir in his direction and called out through the comms, "Hey, Queens, heads up!"

Thankfully, he shot a web, and was carried across the grounds until being caught by Pepper. Steve's breath evened out for a moment before he got back to his task at hand. Feeling at ease when aliens dropped around him without him even touching them.

Suddenly, the cannons stopped shooting down at them, and turned upwards towards the sky at an unseen assailant. Then, they started shooting at whatever it was, and Steve hoped that whoever it was, they were on their side.

Burning, brightness tore through the spaceship, and Steve couldn't fight the grin that crossed his face to find Carol. They could really use her right about now.

As the ship fell into the lake, Steve said, "Danvers, we need an assist here."

Fortunately, he didn't need to tell her what to do, and she weaved between people on her way to the time machine. Steve spotted Thanos charging for Carol -- and more specifically the gauntlet -- and didn't even think before rushing for the titan. Unfortunately, even with his speed and strength, the force didn't do as much as he hoped. Only causing Thanos to momentarily lose his balance.

Not pausing, Steve started landing blows and kicks to the titan. But it wasn't enough as he simply threw Steve off. Landing harshly on the ground, Steve laid there for a moment. As he tried to catch his breath, Steve heard an explosion coming from the direction of the van.

With the realization that they no longer had a time machine and that Thanos wasn't going to stop unless something happened, Steve knew what he had to do. Seeing how Carol was fighting with Thanos, Steve forced himself up once more.

Positioning himself off to Thanos's side, facing Carol. Catching her eye, Steve ran towards her. One handed, she forced Thanos to his knees and passed the gauntlet over to Steve. Knowing that he needed to end this before anyone else got hurt. Easily, he slid his hand into the large gauntlet that started to shrink, to fit his non-hulking hand. His heart raced, remembering Bruce's agonized screams.

Once the gauntlet was snug to his glove, he grit his teeth, trying not to scream as he dropped to his knees. Hot, searing pain shot up his arm like someone had cut open his veins and poured in lava. It felt like the rheumatic fever from his childhood where his whole body burned and his achy joints screamed whenever he moved.

Opening his eyes, he saw Thanos gaining the upper hand against Carol. Clearly angry that Steve was in control now. Thanos yelled, " _I_ am inevitable!"

Holding up his gloved hand, Steve's breath was heavy and heart erratic in his chest as he declared, "I… am… done."

_Snap_


	26. Twenty-Five

**Twenty-Five:**

After a flash of white, Steve forced his eyes open. Trying to sit up, he groaned in pain. Soon, a slender hand was on his chest, easing him back down on the bed. Brows furrowing, Steve blinked as his vision tried to focus, but he couldn't make anything out. It was just a lot of muted reds.

Turning his head in the direction the hand came from, he found his mother sitting there, dipping a rag into a bowl of water. The same way she used to when he was a scrawny kid, Sarah lifted it to his forehead and dabbed at the sweaty skin.

"Shh," Sarah soothed, "You just rest now."

Looking towards the front where the door had been, but wasn't now. Steve attempted to get up again as he protested, "I can't -- Bucky."

"He'll be there once you're done resting," Sarah replied, easing him back down on the bed.

With tear-filled eyes, Steve watched his mother as she sat there in the rickety wooden chair with the chipped paint and lumpy cushion. Humming a soothing Irish lullaby as she took care of him. Once she realized he wasn't going to fight her anymore, she said, "I'm proud of you. You're a good man. Selfless. Strong. A little too brave for my liking, but you've always been that way. My little Steven Grant, it's okay to take care of yourself. It's okay to rest."

Pushing his hair off his face, Sarah leaned over to kiss his forehead as she whispered, "Just rest."

Closing his eyes, tears escaped from the corners of his eyes and a whoosh brought him back to himself. There was a rhythmic pushing on his chest, then a mouth over his as they breathed a breath into him. More pushing as the person with a deep voice cursed, "Fuck! C'mon!"

That mouth wrapped over his again and a deep breath was pushed into Steve's body. When he pulled back, his voice was rough with unshed tears, "Steven Grant, I swear to fucking god."

"Perhaps…?"

Scoffing, he -- no, not _he_ , Bucky -- said, "He just had god knows how much electricity coursing through his veins, I don't want to shock him again." Rougher than before, Bucky slammed his fist -- the new vibranium one that Shuri made him -- against the center of Steve's chest.

Gasping, Steve's eyes flew open to find Bucky kneeling beside him. Thor was close by as he leaned on Stormbreaker while Mjolnir hung limply from his hand. Scott was there too, along with a brunette that Steve assumed was Hope. Glancing by his feet, he found Cassie. Covered in dirt and dried blood and looking positively torn.

As soon as Bucky realized Steve was conscious, he leaned down, wrapped his arms around Steve's body and held him close. Directly into Steve's ear, Bucky emotionally threatened, "As soon as you're better, I'm going to kill you!"

"Oh," Scott said, hand over heart, "Oh, thank god. Cap… tain… America, you had us worried there."

"That was very brave of you," Thor stated, "Stupid, but brave."

Breathlessly, Steve chuckled and looked around to see ash fluttering around them. He managed to croak, "It worked."

"Of course, it did, you idiot," Bucky sighed, panting as though he was the one who needed to be resuscitated.

With eyes only for Bucky, and more energy than he was used to expelling, Steve forced his limp arm up. Cupping his hand around the back of Bucky's neck, he pulled the brunet down to him, smashing their lips together in his first kiss in six years. Letting out all the unspent passion and love with their lips pressed together.

Eventually, Bucky pulled back, and Steve groaned in protest. Smirking, Bucky reassured, "We have plenty of time for that later."

Although Steve knew that was true, he couldn't help but pout. Only agreeing with him when Bucky's eyes darted to the other people around him, reminding Steve that they weren't alone. Not wanting to seem weak, Steve shifted, in hopes of getting up and pain shot through his body. Glancing down his body, he noticed how his right arm was burned down to the muscle and mangled. The gauntlet melted to his hand, yet the stones still shone brightly.

"Don't move," Cassie demanded, while Bucky placed a hand on Steve's chest the same way Sarah had, and tears built in Steve's eyes again.

Bucky, not understanding, reassured, "The pain will be over soon."

Reaching out with his uninjured hand, Bucky, thankfully, took it in his. Noticing how aware Bucky was of their audience, Steve glanced at them and asked, "Can you guys give us a minute, please?"

"Of course," Thor easily agreed, standing from his knee.

"You got it, Cap," Scott said, standing as well.

Worrying her lower lip, Cassie didn't say anything, but stood nonetheless. Seemingly shaken from the day, she wasn't her usual sassy self, but she did manage to give him two thumbs up.

Finally alone, Bucky just cradled Steve's hand in his lap as he surveyed his body, making sure that he didn't miss any point of injury. Shaking his head, tears built in Bucky's eyes and he asked, "What the fuck were you thinking?"

"Needed to end it," Steve croaked, his throat still tight from the emotion and the pain.

Shaking his head, Bucky half-feigned exasperation as he questioned, "What am I gonna do with you?"

Fixing a smirk on his face, Steve joked, "Anything you want. I'm yours. Forever, doll."

The corner of his lips tugged upward and he leaned down to kiss Steve again. It was softer than the first one, but the passion was still present. And if the pain eased, Steve knew that he'd die happy in that moment. But Bucky was here now and Steve refused to die.


	27. Twenty-Six

**Twenty-Six:**

Pulling back ever so slightly, Bucky's eyes darted back and forth looking at both of Steve's as he asked, "You stayin' with me?"

"Mhmm," Steve hummed his confirmation, "Follow you anywhere."

"Not what I meant," playfully, Bucky rolled his eyes and moved upright again, giving Steve's left hand a comforting squeeze as he looked around for something. Every so often, Bucky glanced down at Steve, but it was clear that he was waiting for something, or someone. Frankly, Steve didn't like it. Didn't like the deep, heavy furrow of Bucky's brows. Didn't like that haunted look in his eyes.

Shifting again, Steve sucked in a harsh, intake of breath, instantly regaining Bucky's attention. Removing one of his hands from his lap, Bucky placed it on Steve's chest to keep him flat on the ground. Steve huffed in annoyance and said, "I can get up."

"No," Bucky shook his head, "This is just like winter of '29 when you nearly caught your death because --"

"Not this again."

"-- you thought it was a bright idea --"

"Okay, I get. I get it."

"-- to go _sledding_ , _SLEDDING_ , Steve," Bucky good-humoredly berated, "While sick with pneumonia."

Chuckling, Bucky shook his head and hid his face with his hands. His dirt and sweat matted hair fell, creating a curtain while his shoulder shook in his laughter.

Rolling his eyes, Steve reached up and tugged at Bucky's sleeve as he complained, "C'mon, baby, I haven't seen you in six years." However, with the sound of a wet sniffle, all humor drained from Steve. His own eyes filled with tears as he tugged again, pleading, "Buck?"

Another tug and Bucky agreed by removing his hands. Bashfully, Bucky kept his gaze down on his lap as he tucked his hair behind his ear. Steve gave Bucky's hand a tug and Bucky said, "I can't lose you, Steve."

Steve assured, "You won't."

"I almost just did," Bucky correctly accused. Clenching his jaw to stop his voice from breaking, Bucky asked, "What were you even thinking? How could you do that? Do --" he gestured to Steve's severely burned right arm "-- this?"

"Couldn't let anyone else get hurt," Steve explained, watching Bucky.

"Of course," Bucky shook his head. Breath still uneven, he admitted, "It's what I love -- and hate -- about you."

Although this wasn't the first time that Bucky had ever said that, it was the first time in the last six years. And just like all those years that came before the wars and the future, Steve teased, "You love me?"

And just like every other time, Bucky playfully rolled his eyes, "Lord knows why."

Before anything else could be said, the familiar whirl of air from a quinjet whipped the dirt and ash around. Steve went to tilt his head back to look at the aircraft, but wasn't able to when Bucky slid one arm beneath his neck and another arm beneath his legs, hoisting him up. Pressed firmly to Bucky's broad, muscular chest, Bucky carried Steve onto the quinjet.

"Place him here," Tony instructed, and Bucky listened, placing Steve on the platform in the center of the jet. Looking over Steve's arm and the gauntlet now fused with his hand, Tony said, "We need to cut it off."

"My arm?!"

With how concerned and shocked Tony looked in that moment, Bucky lightly slapped his good arm. Now wasn't the time for humor. Steve held back his chuckle and clarified, "Joke."

"Funny," Tony assured, a small smirk tugging at his lips as he grabbed a handheld saw, "Who knew that all we needed for you to gain a sense of humor was to push you to your deathbed."

"Oh, yeah, he was a real hoot in the 20s," Bucky rolled his eyes, holding Steve's hand as Tony started carefully cutting the metal glove.

Once done, Tony peeled the gauntlet from Steve's hand. Melted to the leather Captain America glove and Steve's skin. Well, what was left of it. Steve grit his teeth as Tony tugged and maneuvered the warped metal glove. It was clear that Tony was trying to work as efficiently as possible, but it wasn't nearly as quick as Steve would've liked. Like a band-aid, Steve wanted him to just tear it quickly.

With a tug that struck a nerve, Steve snapped, "Just rip it off already, fuck."

"Sorry," Tony genuinely apologized instead of replying with a witty comeback.

Then, Tony must have realized that Steve was right because he ripped the glove off. One harsh yank, the gauntlet came off, and nearly took his fingers with it. Although Steve wanted to scream out in his agony, he didn't want Bucky to know how much pain he was truly in, so he muffled himself to a grunt.

"Just hold on," Bucky soothed, letting Steve squeeze his hand when he needed to.

"This'll be cold," Tony warned only a few seconds before he sprayed the special antibiotic spray up and down his left arm. Starting at Steve's jaw all the way down to his fingertips.

Wincing, he grit his teeth so hard that he thought his teeth were going to crack. _Cold_ was an understatement. It was like going into the ice. How his limbs had frozen faster than the rest of him did. Being cold like that caused him to stiffen and squeeze his eyes shut.

"Stevie," Bucky hastily shook his arm, "Stevie, breathe."

The thing was, Steve hadn't even realized that he was holding his breath until that moment. Cautiously, Steve sucked in a shallow breath through his nose. Bucky rubbed his hand along Steve's uninjured arm in comforting strokes. Steve focused on that movement. Focused on Bucky being there with him. They were alive, things were going to be okay.


	28. Twenty-Seven

**Twenty-Seven:**

_Beep… beep… beep_ …

Slowly, Steve's eyes fluttered open. On guard for a moment as he looked over the sterile hospital room, then remembering that he was safe. Turning his head, he found the chair Bucky had been sleeping in, empty. The corners of his lips tugged downward in a frown; not ready for Bucky to leave his side just yet.

"He's checking on the goats."

Turning his head to the other side, his bad side, he found Sam. Nonchalantly, he sipped on a cup of hospital coffee and flipped through a waiting room magazine. Almost instantly, Steve's lips ticked upward as he teased, "So, you're stuck on babysitting duty?"

"Considering what you did when you weren't being watched?" Sam quirked a brow his way, "Yes."

Steve nodded, the side of his neck still sore from the aftermath of the stones. Which reminded him that he needed to return the stones. Glancing down at his arm, he noticed that the dressings had recently been changed. For a moment, he thought about ripping at it, so he could check on his progress. But he knew that Bucky wouldn't be happy with him for not listening to the doctor's orders.

Hence the babysitter.

"You want me to put the TV on?" Sam asked, setting his coffee down on the tray beside Steve's hospital bed. Stretching his arms high above his head, Sam suggested, "Might take your mind off it."

"I don't know about that," Steve scoffed. Easing back into the bed, he agreed, "Sure. Why not."

"Good," Sam gleefully answered, pulling up a holograph screen as he admitted, "A new episode of _Sanctuary_."

Steve quirked a brow, and without even looking at him, Sam defended, "They were having a marathon when you were in surgery, and I got hooked."

Holding his left hand up in surrender, Steve assured, "Wasn't gonna say anything."

"Uh huh," Sam sarcastically replied, "I'm so sure."

Steve grinned, having missed one of his best friends. Relieved that he had him back. His mind tried to keep him on this happy train of thought, while his heart reminded him that he had lost another. Natasha had deserved better. A better childhood. Better friends. Better life. Just… better.

 _I wonder if arrangements have been made_ , Steve couldn't help but think. His heart clenched and tears sprouted at the corner of his eyes.

"You okay?"

Taking in an uneven breath, Steve nodded. Even with the tears rolling over his cheeks, Steve lied, "Fine."

"I can get someone to contact Bucky," Sam offered, gesturing towards the door.

Although Steve knew Bucky wouldn't buy any of his bullshit, he did want Bucky there with him. It had been too long without him and he wanted him there. Of course, Steve always wanted Bucky there.

Thankfully, Sam didn't waste any time as he stood from his seat and exited the hospital room to find a nurse. Alone for a moment, Steve allowed himself to grieve in private. Bringing his hand up to his face and covering his eyes as he silently sobbed. The emotional pain hurt more than the physical, throbbing pain of his arm. But that was how it always seemed to go.

A knock interrupted his moment. Quickly, he thickly swallowed the emotion and removed his hand from his wet face. Once he saw Bucky standing there looking entirely consumed in his concern, Steve's lower lip quivered. Never able to hide his feelings from the love of his life for long, Steve didn't even try to hide it in that moment. Instead, just let the tears fall and the hiccuping breaths nearly cause him to hyperventilate.

"Oh, sweetheart," Bucky soothed, climbing into the bed beside him while tenderly directing Steve's face into his chest. As soon as he was smooshed against Bucky's pec, the tears rained down, staining the soft material of his shirt with their saltiness. Smoothing Steve's hair away from his face, he comforted, "I'm here. I'm here now."

"Whatever… it… takes…" Steve sniffled, "That was… what we… said."

For a moment, Bucky just sat there, holding Steve. With his mouth close to Steve's ear, he asked, "Nattie?" Steve nodded his confirmation and Bucky's lips brushed against his skin as he said, "She did it to help bring everyone else back. It was her choice. She's a hero."

Almost wheezing from lack of air entering his lungs, Steve sobbed, "She… deserved… better."

"She did," Bucky easily agreed, pressing affectionate kisses to Steve's temple.

Unsurprisingly, Steve didn't feel better with Bucky agreeing with him. He just felt guilty. Guilty that he could've done more. Should've done more. There was a canyon in Steve's gut as his mind ran over everything that he could've said to her. Should've said to her before she left. Instead of smiling before they left, he could've reminded her that he loved her. Should've hugged her just one more time.

Once his sobs mellowed, Steve simply laid pressed against Bucky. Softly, Bucky smoothed his hair back, and kissed his forehead. Knowing Steve like the back of his hand, Bucky softly assured, "She knew that you all loved her. She did."

Then, through his pain haze brain, Steve knew what he had to do. Pulling away from Bucky, Steve threw his leg over the edge of the hospital bed. Fully intending on finding his teammates and getting an update on how the rebuilding of the time machine was going.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Bucky asked, grabbing onto Steve's arm.

"To save Natasha," Steve confirmed while Bucky tugged his arm, yanking him back down to the thin mattress. Trying to get his arm out of Bucky's grasp, Steve frantically explained, "I need to return the stones. I need to get her back. I need to _go_! Bucky, I need to --"

"You need to get your ass back in this bed," Bucky demanded, "Your arm is healing for fuck's sake."

"I'm a quick healer," Steve replied, moving to peel Bucky's fingers from his bicep. Only, as soon as he bent his elbow, pain shot up his arm. Clenching his jaw, Steve dropped down on the bed with fresh tears prickling in the corners of his eyes.

Easing Steve back down, Bucky draped the blanket over him and said, "It's been a day -- a _day_ , Steve! You can -- and you _will_ \-- lay here and heal."

Weakly, Steve argued, "But the stones…"

"The stones will still be there," Bucky reassured, taking his seat in the chair beside Steve's bed. Huffing out a breath, he fixed the half-up, half-down hairstyle, tightening the bun as he explained, "That haven't even rebuilt the machine yet."

"As soon as they do…"

Rolling his eyes, Bucky agreed, "You'll be on your way. I know." Extending his arm to Steve, he said, "Now hold my hand and watch this cheesy show with me."

With a small smile stretching his lips, Steve eased into the fluffed pillows and gladly accepted the offer. Lacing his fingers with Bucky's as they contently watched the soap opera. Soon, being joined by Sam who filled the pair in on what was going on in the story. And for a moment, Steve could relax.


	29. Twenty-Eight

**Twenty-Eight:**

"Now, remember," Bruce started, intently watching Steve, "You have to return the stones to the exact moment you got them. Or you're gonna open up a bunch of nasty alternative realities."

As Steve fixed his gloves, he couldn't help but internally roll his eyes at that. Considering what they had done, he had a feeling that there were going to be alternative realities no matter what they did to rectify their previous decisions. Especially when he thought about his fight with 2012. More specifically, what he had told him to win. And if he knew anything about himself and his love for Bucky, he knew that 2012 was definitely looking under every unturned rock to find the handsome brunette.

"Don't worry, Bruce," Steve assured, "Clip all the branches."

Stretching his right arm out, he marveled at his own body's healing and the Wakandan technology. They had done wonders in such a short time. Even managed to heal Bruce's arm, too.

With Bucky's hand in his, Steve gave it a squeeze of reassurance. Of course, that didn't do much to keep Bucky's teeth from remaining in his lower lip. Worried was an understatement. Not that Steve could blame him. After all, Steve hadn't stopped touching Bucky from the moment they were reunited a week ago.

Bruce was messing with the control panel of the new, smaller, Quantum tunnel that Shuri had perfected in a day and a half. Seeing that the pair wanted alone time, Sam crossed the area to Bruce, trying to learn about the machine and how it worked. Also believing that changing something in the past would change the future. Which prompted Bruce into a good-natured rant about how, "That's not how time travel works!"

Turning to face Bucky, Steve reached his hand up to tuck the long brown strands behind his ear. His hand lingering as he took a step closer, he promised, "I'll be back in no time."

"You're still leaving," Bucky sighed, purposely not looking at him.

Pressing his forehead against Bucky's, Steve reassured, "I'll only be gone for five seconds."

"Five seconds too long," Bucky frowned, wrapping his arms around Steve's trim waist. Chewing on his own lower lip, Bucky suggested, "Maybe I should go with you."

Steve shook his head, "I'll be fine."

"I'm holding you to that," Bucky said, tilting his face up to press a sweet kiss to Steve's lips.

"You can hold me to anything," Steve teased around Bucky's lips, earning a sweet chuckle from his lover.

Playfully shoving at Steve's broad shoulder, Bucky agreed, "Get to it then. And don't do anything stupid."

"I won't, I promise," Steve confirmed, climbing onto the platform with the stones, the scepter, and Mjolnir.

"I swear to fucking god, Steven Grant, I mean it," Bucky threatened. And really, Steve couldn't blame him. He did have a good reason to worry, what with Steve's lack of impulse control and everything.

Turning to face the handsome brunet, Steve winked while Bruce counted, "Going Quantum in three, two, one."

Being shrunken and shot through space in time, Steve kept his eyes closed to stave off nausea. Not that it really did much as the dizziness still got to him. One would think that Tony and Bruce could come up with something to help with that. If only his cells would let the motion sickness medicine do its job.

When Steve opened his eyes again, he was in the Avengers' Tower. With scepter in hand, Steve looked at the destruction that he and 2012 managed to make. Wincing for his younger self and the probable lecture that he was getting from Tony. Not that 2012 was probably even listening to begin with after learning about Bucky's survival.

"Captain Rogers."

Startled, Steve whipped around to find --

No one.

He could've sworn that he heard Vis--

"Captain Rogers, is there a reason why there are two of you? And that there were two Sirs?"

"Jarvis?" Steve asked, looking up at the ceiling. It had been years since Steve had thought of Jarvis as only a bodiless entity of artificial intelligence. Then, remembering that he was asked a question, Steve answered, "Um…"

Sheepishly, Steve glanced upward and asked, "How surprised would you be if I told you Tony helped create Time Travel?"

"I wouldn't be surprised at all," Jarvis answered, "Sir is one of the most intelligent individuals on the planet."

Steve rolled his eyes at that, but decided not to say anything. The man had perfected Time Travel, after all. Before Shuri, at least. Instead, he decided to use the eyes and ears of the tower to his benefit, "Any way that you can keep everyone distracted, while I slip this --" Steve gestured towards the scepter "-- back into its case?"

"It'd be no difficulty at all, Captain."

"Thanks, Jarvis," Steve sighed in relief as he tried to sneak across the messy, shattered glass covered floor.

When he heard other footsteps crunching the glass, he paused. Crouching to duck behind a staircase and glancing around as he looked for the person. Spotting the familiar red boots, Steve's eyes snapped up, finding 2012.

"I came to return this," Steve assured, "Then, I'll be on my way."

"Your remorse kicked in quicker than I thought," 2012 commented, crossing his arms.

Rolling his eyes, Steve righted himself and kept one key on him as he crossed the room to the metal case. While he flipped it over, 2012 asked, "So, why'd you take it if you were just going to turn back around and return it?"

"I've had this for a week and a half," Steve answered, placing it in the case.

2012 narrowed his eyes as he studied Steve. But Steve wasn't a good liar, 2012 should know that. Bucky used to tell them that all the damn time, after all. "Why'd you take it?"

"To get Bucky back," Steve fiddled with the Time GPS.

"Where _is_ Bucky?" 2012 questioned, his emotions and true motives written all over his face. No wonder why everyone was always calling him out.

"At this exact moment?" Steve blew a puff of air out, "Haven't a clue. But he's with HYDRA."

"HYDRA?!" 2012 exclaimed, eyes widening as he took a step closer to Steve, "That's not possible."

Steve scoffed, "Yes it is. And I know that _you_ know it is, too. Especially after finding what we found on that ship today. You _know_." Making sure that his GPS was set to the right time, he said, "Now I have to go. But trust me, keep an eye on S.H.I.E.L.D. and you'll eventually find Bucky."

Before his younger self could ask any more questions, Steve pressed the button, closing his eyes as he was spit back into the Quantum realm. Hoping that 2012 would find Bucky sooner than he had. Even if it created an alternate timeline, Bucky didn't deserve to be under that conditioning for another second, let alone two years.

And Steve wished his younger self good luck on his journey, wherever it led him.


	30. Twenty-Nine

**Twenty-Nine:**

Materializing in a palace, Steve took a moment to glance around. Having absolutely no clue as to where he was or where he was supposed to go. Since it was a palace, Steve assumed that he was in Asgard. For a moment, he wondered if he had enough time to grab some of that Asgardian Ale, but decided that that wasn't going to help Thor's sobriety. So, he got back to the plan. Based off the diagram that Thor had drawn him, he was pretty sure he was heading in the right direction.

Then, he paused. Thor sat on the ground in front of a cell. Not the 2013 Thor, but the 2023 Thor with Mjolnir beside him. From inside of the cell, Loki sat close to the shimmery windowed wall. Thor sniffled and said, "I should've been kinder to you."

Loki, stunned into his silence, just sat there, listening. There was no malice. No mischief, and Steve wondered why Thor hadn't told anyone about talking to his brother. Of course, Steve hadn't told anyone about his goodbye to Peggy. And Steve felt gross for intruding on that moment, even if it was soon over as Rocket ran up to get them to leave. Sneaking down another passage, Steve took the long way around to Jane's room, leaving Mjolnir outside her door.

Taking in a deep breath, he mustered enough courage to rush into the room and inject the reality stone -- the Aether -- into the acclaimed astrophysicist. Steve was never particularly the best spy, but he still tried. Staying behind the petite woman and holding his breath as he used the tool Rocket gave him and shoved the prong into her back.

She screamed, and Steve wasn't sure if it was from shock or pain, but when she glanced over her shoulder at him, she looked angry. Downright livid, in fact. Spinning around and going to slap him. And she would've if Steve hadn't hit the Time GPS, sucking him back into the Quantum Realm.

Through time he quickly traveled once more. Making the mistake of opening his eyes. Instantly, he felt sick, and he reminded himself to talk to Shuri when he got back. Perhaps her team would be able to come up with something. Not that Steve wanted to time travel once all of… _this_ was done, but it would be nice to have something for the odd headache and unfortunate nausea spell.

Popping up again on another planet, Steve took in the dark atmosphere in awe. Reds colored the sky with large, picturesque dark clouds blocked out the light. For a moment, Steve just looked around in wonder. Until something started climbing up his leg.

Kicking the small alien creature off his leg, Steve decided not to spend too long gazing at the sights. Instead, he took the small metal sphere out of his pocket and entered the temple. Hoping that there wouldn't be any booby traps as he crossed the area. A cylinder with an empty middle with laser lights, Steve reminded himself not to touch the light. Especially after Rhodey told him about it burning Nebula's hand.

Instead, gently, Steve tossed the sphere with the power stone into the light. Thankfully, it caught the sphere and sucked it into the center where it floated. Only giving it one more look over his shoulder before leaving the temple.

And with that out of the way, Steve removed the miniature spaceship from another pocket. Setting it on the ground, Steve pressed the button, letting the ship expand. Rocket told him that the coordinates were already loaded in. All Steve had to do was push a button and the ship would fly itself.

Thankfully, Rocket was right. The ship managed to fly -- and land -- itself.

However, as soon as it landed, and Steve climbed out of it, he felt sick. In his chest, Steve's heart raced while his palms turned clammy in his fingerless gloves. Overall, a sense of dread ran through his veins. Even before he turned and found two ominous stone towers.

"So, we meet again," a figure floated closer, "Steven, son of Sarah."

Gobsmacked, Steve nearly dropped to his knees. Slack jawed, Steve breathed, "Johann."

"I know what you're doing here, and I must decline."

Picking his jaw off the ground, Steve narrowed his eyes at the red face man, "You can. There's no reason to keep her when I'm returning the stone."

"Soul for a soul," Johann said, turning and floating off.

Steve clenched his jaw as he followed. Determined, he argued, "Exactly. This --" he held up the Infinity Stone "-- for _her_."

"That's not how this --"

"It could be," Steve refused to just let Natasha stay dead, "And I'm not leaving without her."

The briefest of smirks crossed the deep red, chiseled face. Steve wasn't going to let himself ease though. No, not until he had Natasha back. He meant it when he said that he wasn't leaving without her. He'd carve out Johann's heart with his bare hands and eat it, if he had to. Whatever it took, Steve was going to get Natasha back.

"Soul for a soul," Johann repeated, getting on Steve's last nerve.

Getting right in Johann's skull-face, not backing down as he held up the stone, "Soul." Then, keeping his eyes locked with Johann's, he tossed it over the cliff, "For a soul."

"Together, we would've been unstoppable."

Shaking his head, Steve corrected, "So far, nothin's stopped me yet. Not even you."

"We could've recreated the world in our view," Johann added.

Clenching his hands by his side, he refrained from tossing _him_ over the edge of cliff. Then, a light shot down between the two rock towers and, there, Natasha stood. With furrowed brows, she looked at Steve, studying him while Steve's eyes filled with tears.

"Steve?" She questioned, cautiously walking towards the two men.

Steve crossed the space between them and didn't stop once he reached her. Instead, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. Sniffling, Steve teased, "And you say that _I_ make poor choices."

"You're impulsivity is questionable and misguided at best," Natasha answered, loosely wrapping her arms around his waist.

Wetly, Steve chuckled and gave her petite frame one more squeeze before pulling back. Just looking at her for a moment because he never thought that he'd be able to see his best friend again. Natasha must've realized that because she didn't push him away or mock him the way that she might've before.

Instead, Natasha allowed the nanobot time suit to cover her as she said, "Let's go home."


	31. Thirty

**Thirty:**

Before Steve could go home, he had one more thing that he had to do. Well, two more things. While Natasha fixed the date on her Time GPS, Steve entered another coordinate. He knew that they'd arrive at the same time, but he still hesitated for leaving her for a moment.

As they got sucked into the Quantum Realm, Steve opened his eyes long enough to watch Natasha shoot off in a different direction than he went. Hoping that she wouldn't be too annoyed when they both popped up on the other side together on the new and improved tunnel platform.

For a moment, Steve had thought about taking Natasha with him, but he knew that he needed to do this alone. It had been too suspicious when he and Tony traveled there. And despite himself, Steve had this urge to see Peggy again. To look at more of her pictures and just spend more time with her since he didn't get to when she was alive. Even if that meant looking around a dark, empty office by himself.

With the suitcase in hand, Steve materialized in the warehouse. A whole bunch of dangerous junk laid around and Steve wondered how they could be so disorganized. Especially when this stuff was dangerous.

Nevertheless, Steve placed the newly restored Tesseract into its place. Letting out a breath of relief, Steve could finally breathe easier. It was done. He could go back and live a quiet, peacefu--

"Steve?"

Spinning around, Steve found Peggy standing there. Her pale skin blanched when she took him in and she quickly grabbed onto the back of a chair to steady herself. Quickly Steve rushed to her before she dropped to the floor.

"You're… You can't… I thought… No…" Peggy attempted to gather herself, but couldn't find her words.

Instead, she simply stared at him with wide eyes filled with so much awe. Of course, she never thought that he survived before he showed up in 2012. Steve's heart ached. He had been blindsided before, only… He wouldn't be able to stay the way his loved ones had.

Reaching up, Peggy touched Steve's face. Almost as though she had been expecting him to vanish. Even when his own arms were wrapped around her, holding her up.

"You're alive," Peggy finally breathed. Steve nodded, and Peggy asked, "How?"

Looking around at all the junk -- and being in a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility that had HYDRA as its under belly -- Steve shifted uncomfortably. Peggy must've understood because she instantly regained herself and removed herself from Steve's grip.

Briskly, Peggy led them out of the warehouse. There was a moment where Steve was self-conscious and worried that someone would recognize him. Especially since he wasn't exactly dressed for the time. Sure, he wasn't in one of his Captain America suits, but his tactical gear was still more modern than what others were wearing.

All but pushing Steve into her office, she closed the door behind herself and closed the blinds. The pair were in complete darkness for a moment before Peggy turned on the light. While Steve blinked his eyes until he was used to the sudden change, Peggy studied him. He wondered what she saw.

"How?" Peggy asked, incredulous that Steve was actually there.

"The ice," Steve answered, taking a seat. Since Steve did, Peggy did too. Steve scratched the back of his neck as he chuckled under his breath, "They found me in it. Thawed me out."

"When?" Peggy's brows furrowed. Anger coloring her expression, "Why wasn't I contacted?"

"Because it hasn't happened yet," Steve thickly swallowed. When confusion seeped back into her, he continued, "In 2012, they found me. Right before the Chitauri attack -- they're aliens." Peggy's brows flew up on her forehead and Steve nodded, "I know. Although that wasn't even the craziest thing that happened. There were more aliens. Gods! Robots who wanted to cause the extinction of the human race. But none of those lived up to… Thanos."

Reaching over, Peggy covered Steve's hand and gave the top of his a squeeze, "It's alright, darling. You don't have to elaborate."

"Thanks," Steve sighed in relief. Eyes flittering over to the frames on her desk, he gestured with his chin, "You have a beautiful family."

"I do," Peggy agreed, beaming. Letting go of Steve's hands, she grabbed a decorative gold frame. The picture on her wedding day. Showing it to Steve, she said, "This is my husband, Daniel. You saved him, you know. You saved a lot of people."

"So did you, Pegs," Steve replied, getting a closer look at the picture. Half-wanting to see if he could remember the man, but not wanting to spiral down into the black hole of despair that those memories caused him.

Instead of continuing that story, she picked up a frame with different buttons glued to it. A child's art project, perhaps. Steve's smile grew when he saw a picture of the little boy. He had his father's nose and Peggy's smile. Peggy told him, "This is our Steven Michael." Steve's eyes snapped up from the portrait to Peggy while she kept her gaze on her son, "He's so wildly imaginative."

"Pegs," Steve wetly said, his throat tight with emotion. Eyes roaming over the picture of the little brown haired boy as he used his fingers to enlarge his grin and crossed his eyes in a silly gesture.

"And this," Peggy handed Steve a frame decorated with lace, "Is Colleen Angela. She's the queen of pretend and even gives her god mother a run for her money."

"Oh," Steve exaggerated as he touched his heart. The little girl took after Peggy. Especially as she stood there in a power stance with one hand on her hip and the other holding a play wooden sword. Steve gushed, "She's perfect. They both are."

"We're very lucky," Peggy confirmed. After a moment, Steve tore his eyes from the photos in his grasp and looked up at the brunette. Peggy was watching him and she asked, "Are you happy?"

A smile tugged at Steve's lips as he honestly answered, "I am. I wasn't for a long time, but I am now."

"Good," Peggy's smile grew.

Handing the pictures back to her, Steve declared, "I even found Bucky."

The frames fell and clanged against the desk. Wide-eyed, she looked over to Steve again, "What?"

"He didn't die like we thought," guilt instantly coiled in his stomach, "HYDRA got him. They conditioned him… broke him to his very core… for fifty years he was their weapon."

"Steve, we ended HYDRA," Peggy was still in shock.

He shook his head, "We just cut off a head. It grew back and infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D."

"I beg your pardon," Peggy scoffed, rolling her eyes at the audacity.

"Pegs," Steve said softly.

Peggy spotted the sincerity and cursed, "Zola," before quickly jotting a note down for herself. Something about calling an exterminator, Steve smirked. Shaking her head, she teased, "If only you could forever be here."

"If only," Steve dramatically sighed, earning a giggle from Peggy.

"When do you have to leave?" Peggy asked.

"Soon," Steve reluctantly answered. Wishing that he and Bucky could've lived their lives with the friends they bonded with in the war. Wishing even more that Steve could bring all of them with him to the future. "Bucky's waiting for me."

"Then, it's best not to keep him waiting," Peggy sadly smiled, standing from her desk. Hesitantly, she held her arms open in invitation. Without even debating it for a second, Steve embraced her, holding her close. It had been far too long since he had seen Peggy, or talked to her, let alone hugged her. And really, there was no way that he'd turn down that opportunity.

Reluctantly, he pulled back, dropping a kiss to her cheek as he typed in the time and coordinates on the Time GPS. His heart clenched when tears silently rolled over her checks. His own tears started building as he told her, "Goodbye, Pegs."

"Goodbye, my darling."


	32. Thirty-One

**Thirty-One:**

Finally materializing in the correct time, Steve could barely take a breath before he was tackled into a hug. Bucky's arms tightly wrapped around his torso while his face buried in Steve's neck. For a moment, he just stood there, letting Bucky awkwardly hug him.

Once Steve was able to weasel his arms out from under Bucky's grasp, he wrapped them around the handsome brunet. Rubbing his hand over Bucky's back in soothing motions. When he felt wet on his neck, Steve smoothed a hand over Bucky's hair and held him just a bit tighter. Reveling in the fact that he _could_.

"I told you," Steve whispered, "Five seconds."

"And _I_ told _you_ ," Bucky sniffled, "Five seconds _too long_."

Steve's shoulders slumped as he agreed, "I know." Nuzzling his face in Bucky's hair, he asked, "Do you think you could let me go long enough so I can retire?"

Bucky pulled back at that. Eyes darting between Steve's before his brows arched high on his forehead, "Really?"

Pressing a kiss to Bucky's forehead, Steve confirmed, "Really."

At that, Bucky captured Steve's mouth in a searing kiss. Pulling Steve closer until their bodies were pressed flush together. Bucky's hand cupped the back of his neck and deepened the kiss so sweetly that Steve audibly whined when he ended it too soon for his liking.

"Thought you were leaving," Bucky challenged with a smirk.

Playfully narrowing his eyes, Steve threatened, "I'm gonna make you pay for this."

"I'm shaking in my boots," Bucky chuckled, all sunshine and sugary sweet.

Rolling his eyes, Steve stepped off the platform. Draping his arm along Sam's broad shoulders, he steered them along Tony and Pepper's property. Walking parallel to the lake, Steve decided now was the time, "Ya know, I think Tony might be right."

Sam's brows arched high on his forehead, "You do?"

"Of course, don't tell _him_ that," Steve said, conspiratorially. Glancing over to Bucky who was easily talking to Natasha and Bruce with a carefree grin on his face, Steve shrugged, "Might be nice to… settle down."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Sam questioned, his brows still showing his surprise.

Pausing at the edge of the forest, Steve dropped his arm so he could look at Sam, face-to-face. He had never been so sure in his life as he confirmed, "I want you to take up the mantel of Captain America."

Nervous, Sam's brows furrowed, "Why me?"

"Because you're a good man," Steve assured, affectionately clapping his hand down on Sam's shoulder.

As Steve gave his shoulder a tender squeeze, Sam thickly swallowed as he held back tears and said, "Thank you. I'll do my best."

"That's why it's yours," Steve's smile grew, bringing Sam in for a hug.

Sam sniffled, "It's not gonna be the same."

"Just because it's different doesn't mean that it's bad," Steve rested his chin on Sam's shoulder, "Your best is all we can ask for. And I know you'll do the title justice. In your own way that'll be better than I could've ever done."

"I don't suppose those speeches come with the shield, huh?" Sam teased, earning a laugh from Steve as they pulled back from the hug.

"No, I'm afraid those are something you're gonna have to practice," Steve grinned leading the way back to Tony's cabin and the Quantum tunnel and, most importantly, Bucky.

Sam shoved his hands in his pockets and he asked, "Do I still get to keep Redwing? 'Cause you know how attached to him, I am."

"You don't have to give up anything you don't want to give up," Steve reassured, bumping his shoulder with Sam's. "It's kind of like getting married. You're not losing your wings, you're gaining a shield."

"Speaking of marriage," Sam playfully elbowed Steve while wiggling his brows suggestively, "Got any plans with Barnes?"

Steve could feel the heat in his cheeks and he directed his attention to the ground, "I mean… We technically _can_ now…" Looking back over at his best friend, he continued, "And I know that you're not crazy about him after everything he did back… But just because he'll -- _hopefully_ \-- marry me doesn't mean that I'm going to stop being your friend. Like, I'm not just going to --"

"Whoa," Sam interrupted, waving his arms to cut Steve's sentence clean off. Turning to face Steve, he said, "I wasn't implying that, and _you_ shouldn't be thinking that. Sure, Barnes' and I fight, but I fight with Natasha, too. Hell, even we've fought! Doesn't mean that I don't care about them. Doesn't mean that I don't want him happy the same way that I want _you_ happy. I just wanted to know if I needed to pick up a new tux any time soon."

Relieved to hear that Sam cared about Bucky when, for a while, they could hardly be in the same room together without so much as bickering, Steve barked out a laugh. Truly gleeful at Sam's sentiment and his friendship. Tugging Sam close again, Steve reassured, "I'll keep you posted on any wedding related plans."

"That's all I ask," Sam grinned.

"Don't tell me _he's_ your successor," Bucky teased as soon as the pair was in ear-shot.

"Yeah, and what's it matter to you?" Sam playfully questioned, quirking a brow and crossing his arms.

Bucky shrugged and mocked, "Just want to make sure that Steve didn't pass it off to some clown. Oh, wait!"

"Clown, huh?" Sam brought Bucky in, locking him at his side and properly gave him a noogie. While he rubbed his knuckles against Bucky's head, messing up his long hair, he taunted, "Who's the clown now?"

"Steve! Serve up some star-spangled justice while you're still Captain America!" Bucky laughed, almost wheezing.

They all knew that if Bucky really wanted to break free, he would. But the fact that he entertained Sam's childish antics meant everything to Steve. It left him feeling light to know that his oldest, most cherished friend was accepted by the friends he made in the future. The friends that were there when Steve still thought Bucky was gone. The friends who helped him find Bucky. The ones who had cared all along, even if Steve hadn't noticed it.

This was the right decision, and Steve had never been happier.


	33. Epilogue

**Epilogue:**

Making sure that the camper's trailer was properly hooked up to Steve's motorcycle, he stood. The leaves were falling and soon it would be too cold for the bike. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Bucky and Cassie playing with Morgan. Raking the leaves into piles, only for the five year old to jump in them, messing the piles up.

As Bucky brought her into his arms, she giggled uncontrollably. When he pressed a raspberry onto her stomach, she squealed and Steve's grin grew. Only briefly, Steve wished that he had been there from the beginning. Been there to find out that Pepper was pregnant. Back when Morgan was learning to crawl. Or take her first steps. Or say her first word. Especially when she said her first swear word.

For a moment, Steve wondered if taking Bucky away was the best thing for them. Sure, they could call up Tony and Pepper any time and Steve was positive that Tony would send a quinjet to pick them up. But it wouldn't be the same.

"So," Cassie started, gaining Steve's attention. Dramatically, she put her hands on her hips and continued with her Cap Impersonation, "You're back to your lumberjack ways because it turns on your boyfriend."

Blushing, Steve theatrically tilted his head to look up at the sky as he shook his head, "Are you _ever_ going to let that go?"

"Are you kidding?" Cassie good-humoredly scoffed, "This material is gold."

"Of course," Steve sighed and playfully rolled his eyes. Mocking himself, "You make a couple of videos for schools, and suddenly you're a joke."

"Hate to be the one to break this to you, but you were _definitely_ already a joke," Cassie feigned guilt. Then, she lowered her voice to loudly whisper, "Six words: Star Spangled Man With a Plan."

"Oh, god," Steve theatrically groaned in embarrassment as he covered his face. Playfully peeking at her from between his fingers, he saw the large, toothy grin on her face. Dropping his hands, he tugged at her sweater's sleeve, "C'mere, kid."

Sadness colored her expression as she crossed the small distance between them and wrapped her arms around his waist. Steve held her close with his arms around her shoulders and rested his cheek on the top of her head. Although they both knew that it wasn't goodbye, Steve still didn't want to leave. Sure, they knew each other the least amount of time out of all the other kids he considered his nieces and nephews, but that didn't mean that he cared about her any less. When no one else seemed to _really_ be there, Cassie was. She gave him hope. She gave him Bucky.

"Promise to text me every once in a while?" Steve suggested, nearly begging for continued contact.

"Oh, you're gonna wish that I _wouldn't_ ," Cassie sniffled. She giggled, "You're going to be up to date with all the current memes."

"I can tell that I'm already going to regret this," Steve said, not even trying to mask his happiness.

Another sniffle and Cassie pulled back, out of the embrace. Crossing her arms along her chest, she seemed to be holding herself, and Steve was glad when Scott came over to wrap his arm around her. With the same sad smile that Steve was sporting, Scott said, "Have a safe trip. Let us know when you get there."

"Likewise," Steve agreed, companionably patting Scott on his shoulder. "And I expect some senior pictures that we can hang up."

"You don't have to worry about that," Scott assured while Cassie teased, "I plan on putting that PO Box to use." Feigning thought, "I'm thinking, postcards."

Steve shook his head, but the grin refused to leave his face. Didn't even leave when Bucky carried Morgan up to them. Not even when Tony and Pepper came down from the deck to wish them a safe trip.

With wet eyes and unshed tears, hugs were exchanged. Tony patting Steve on his back and reminding him to, "Just call if you need anything. A ride, an update, anything."

"Text us as soon as you're there," Pepper said for the umpteenth time that day, kissing Steve on his cheek before complaining, "I think I liked you better shaved."

Chuckling, Steve apologized, "Sorry, Pep."

She simply winked in reply.

When it was Morgan's turn though, Steve's heart nearly broke in half. She clung to Steve's neck, openly sobbing into his flannel clad shoulder. Repeating that she didn't want them to go. And Steve couldn't blame her. Everyone else had already left, and soon, even the Langs would be heading back to California. It seemed as though the world was finally returning to the way it was, and Morgan definitely didn't like it.

"Hey," Steve soothed, rubbing her back, "We'll be back, bug."

Sniffling, she finally pulled back enough to look at Steve and, with a quivering lower lip and tear stained face, she asked, "You promise?"

"I promise," Steve readily assured, meaning it.

She glanced over at Bucky and asked, "Even Uncle Bucky?"

"Even Uncle Bucky," Steve confirmed. Holding her close once more, Steve kissed her temple before passing her back to Tony.

Taking in a deep breath, Steve turned towards his lover and asked, "Ready?"

"Ready," Bucky agreed.

Nodding, Steve triple checked the trailer before straddling the bike. Bucky climbed on next and firmly wrapped his arms around Steve's trim waist. Resting his cheek against Steve's shoulder blade, Bucky removed one arm as he waved while Steve drove off. Tears streaming down Steve's cheeks as he watched their family wave after them in the side mirrors.

Returning his arm, Bucky gave Steve's midsection a comforting squeeze. Reminding Steve that he wasn't traveling alone. That he wouldn't be returning to the cabin by himself. That he didn't have to keep running. He could rest. He could live. Finally.


End file.
